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HCCC 440/2024
[2025] HKCFI 3385
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
CRIMINAL CASE NO 440 OF 2024
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| Date: |
10 July 2025 at 11.57 am |
| Present: |
Mr Ng Wing-kit, SPP of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR |
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Miss Vickie W K Ling, instructed by Fu & Cheng, assigned by DLA, for the accused |
| Offence: |
(1) Possession of a dangerous drug (管有危險藥物) |
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(2) Trafficking in a dangerous drug (販運危險藥物) |
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Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case
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COURT: The defendant pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a dangerous drug and one count of trafficking in dangerous drugs before a magistrate and is now committed for sentence.
On 16 July 2022, at about 9.10 in the evening, the police intercepted a car driven by the defendant in a snap check at Sai Yee Street, Mong Kok. Upon search, the police found in the pockets of the defendant two plastic bags containing 3.39 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 3.35 grammes of ‘Ice’. Under caution, the defendant said he bought the ‘Ice’ at the price of $3,000 from an unknown male in Mong Kok the previous night for his self‑consumption.
With the aid of a police dog, the police found below the front passenger seat a brief bag which contained four plastic bags containing 54.9 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 54.5 grammes of ‘Ice’, and another plastic bag containing 1.7 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 1.69 grammes of ‘Ice’.
The defendant is now 40 years old. At the time of the offence, he was 37. He has 11 previous convictions in which five was drug related, namely one count of trafficking in dangerous drugs in 2009 for which he was sentenced to 5 years and 8 months’ imprisonment, and four counts of possession of dangerous drugs. Defendant received education up to Form 3 level in Hong Kong. He last worked as a transport worker earning around 13,000 per month.
For Charge 1, considering the quantity of the drugs involved, the fact that the defendant was himself a drug addict, his previous similar convictions, and the latent risk of trafficking, I will adopt a starting point of 13 months’ imprisonment and that sentence will be enhanced by 2 months due to the fact that the offence was committed while he was on bail, making a total of 15 months’ imprisonment.
For Charge 2, in considering the appropriate sentence for trafficking in ‘Ice’, I made reference to the judgments of the Court of Appeal in HKSAR v Herry Jane Yusuph [2021] 1 HKLRD 290, and the case HKSAR v Huang Ruifang [2025] 2 HKLRD 138. The quantity of ‘Ice’ involved in this case is 56.19 grammes. Under Huang Ruifang, the starting point for trafficking in ‘Ice’ for 10 to 70 grammes should be in the range of 7 to 11 years’ imprisonment.
There is nothing to indicate that the role of the defendant in this case was more than a mere courier. There is however no valid mitigation factor apart from the defendant’s guilty plea.
In the circumstances, taking into account the defendant’s guilty plea, for Charge 1, the sentence is reduced from 15 months’ imprisonment to 10 months’ imprisonment. For Charge 2, I adopt a starting point of 10 years’ imprisonment. And the starting point of 10 years is to be enhanced to 10 years and 3 months due to the defendant’s previous similar conviction. Considering the defendant’s guilty plea, the sentence is reduced to 6 years and 10 months’ imprisonment.
Considering the overall sentence in this matter, in my judgment, it is appropriate to order that 2 months of the sentence of Charge 1 be run consecutively to Charge 2, and the rest of the sentence is served concurrently. To conclude, the defendant is therefore sentenced for a total of 7 years’ imprisonment for both charges.
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