COURT: Defendant, you appear in this court for sentence today, having pleaded guilty in the court below to an offence of trafficking in 24.83 grammes of "Ice", contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Chapter 134, Laws of Hong Kong.
The Summary of Facts, which you have today confirmed as being correct, establishes that, on 25 March of this year, you were intercepted by police outside Tsui Fuk House in Chai Wan and searched, as a result of which, a resealable plastic bag containing the drugs being the subject matter of the charge was found from your left front trouser pocket. Under caution, you told the police that you had just bought the drugs from a person called ‘Pang Chai’ and paid HK$8,000 for them.
You were then taken back to your home where apparatus for smoking "Ice" was discovered, together with other paraphernalia, including electronic scales and plastic bags. You subsequently told the police in a video-recorded interview that the drugs you had bought from Pang Chai were for your own consumption and for selling.
I am told, through your counsel, this morning that about one-fifth of the drugs were for your own consumption. The rest, that is four-fifths, was for sale to others in order to support your drug addiction. The prosecution have informed me that they accept that a small proportion of the drugs which were found on you were indeed for your own consumption and, for sentencing purposes, I am prepared to accept your assertion, through your counsel, that one-fifth of this consignment of drugs was indeed for your own consumption.
You are 25 years of age now, although 24 at the time of the offence. You do have four previous convictions but it is right to say that this is your first conviction for an offence of this nature.
Whilst I take everything into account that has been said on your behalf by your counsel in mitigation, it is your plea of guilty to this offence that is the main mitigation and I will give you due credit for that.
Regarding sentence, the appropriate guidelines can be found in Attorney General v Ching Kwok Hung [1991] 2 HKLR 125, and for trafficking in 10 to 70 grammes of "Ice", the starting point for sentence falls between 7 to 10 years’ imprisonment.
In this case, the court is dealing with very nearly 25 grammes of narcotic. I adopt a starting point of 7 years 9 months’ imprisonment; however, I will reduce that starting point by 9 months to take account of the fact that one-fifth of these drugs were for your own consumption, meaning that the balance of approximately 20 grammes or thereabouts was for sale to others, reducing it down to 7 years’ imprisonment.
I will give you the full discount of one-third to reflect your plea of guilty, arriving at a sentence of 4 years and 8 months’ imprisonment.