HKSAR v. TSANG WING KIN

DCCC864/2008

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 864 OF 2008

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Reasons for Sentence

1.  The defendant appears before me today charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug.  The drug involved is 14.86 grammes of cocaine.

2.  The circumstances of the events, briefly, are that due to observations by the police, the defendant was seen leaving a MacDonald’s Restaurant at a quick pace on 19 August 2008 at about 9.48 pm.  He was stopped, and a body search revealed a paper bag which contained seven transparent resealable plastic bags, each containing 10 bags of cocaine.  Accordingly, there were 70 bags of the substance in total.  He was arrested, and under caution, claimed it was for his own consumption.

3.  At the material time, the defendant unlawfully possessed the aforesaid cocaine for the purposes of trafficking as is stated in the Summary of Facts.  The defendant has admitted those facts, and consequent on his plea of guilty, I have convicted him of the offence.

4.  A criminal or his criminal record has been produced, and it shows four matters which he has agreed.  I note that one of those matters, the last matter on 13 July 2004, was trafficking in dangerous drugs, for which he was sent to a rehabilitation centre. 

5.  Mitigation has followed.  I am told he is 24, single and used to reside with his father who was absent for long periods of time in the mainland.  He lives apart from his mother and sister.  Before the commission of this offence, he was a lorry driver on about $10,000 a month.  I am told that on the date of the offence, he went to this MacDonald’s, and in a toilet bought the cocaine from a trafficker for $18,000.  I am told that he considered it cheaper to buy in bulk as he was a drug addict and took three packets a day, which I do not accept as part of mitigation.  I will get to that factor shortly.

6.  As well, three letters have been tendered to me, the contents of which have been fully explained by his lawyer, and I accept.  The first is a testimonial from his employer to say that he has been employed in the company for some time as a lorry driver, he is hardworking, responsible, and his employer asks me for leniency.  The second is a letter from MPF showing that he does work or did work, and the third is a letter from the defendant himself, telling me that he has been in custody for four months and he has reviewed his situation and knows that the offence is serious.  He had a good performance and a bright future in the company and asks the court to forgive him.  He further states that under the influence of peers, he was induced to try and consume dangerous drugs to reduce pressure.  He is a dangerous-drug dependent, and he admitted the indexed offence as the quantity of dangerous drugs found on him is high, which it is.  He says he has learnt a bitter lesson, and upon his release from gaol, he will be a more responsible person in our society.

7.  The problem of trafficking in drugs is a very serious offence, and the amount of drug here is certainly not small, being, as I stated, 14.86 grammes of cocaine.  As indicated earlier, the defendant told me in mitigation and referred to in his letter that it was all for his own consumption, and I do not accept that.  He says he takes three packets a day and there was enough for about 20-odd days or 23 days.  I reject that part of his mitigation. 

8.  The amount of drug here that was in his possession was high.  It was contained in 70 packets, not a small amount.  The authorities suggest that for trafficking in that drug - that is cocaine - of between 10 to 50 grammes, a starting point is attractive of 5 to 8 years’ imprisonment.  The authorities also say that youth or relevant youth - you are 24 - is not a mitigating factor because the matters are so serious and it is obvious that an immediate custodial sentence is the appropriate one.

9.  In all of the circumstances here, what I am going to do is take a starting point of 5 years and 3 months’ imprisonment.  You will get the full credit for your plea of guilty of one-third discount.  Accordingly, you will be convicted and sentenced to 3 years and 6 months' imprisonment.