HKSAR v. LEE MEI WA

HCCC 109/2016

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 109 OF 2016

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Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case

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COURT:

Defendant, you have pleaded guilty to an offence of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. You admitted that on 12 June 2005, at the 2nd Floor of Bridal Tea House Hotel, Gillies Avenue South, Hung Hom, you unlawfully trafficked in 6.964 kilogrammes of a crystalline solid containing 6.536 kilogrammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride, commonly known as ‘Ice’. This plea of guilty was entered before me on 30 March 2017.

The sentence was adjourned, pending the conclusion of your co-accused’s trial, Mr Yuen Yiu-wing, Ricky. In that trial, you gave evidence on that defendant’s behalf. The defendant was found not guilty. In that trial, I also heard, apart from what your counsel, Mr Bruce Tse, has informed me this morning, about your personal background. The facts for your plea of guilty were admitted by you and they were dated 30 March 2017.

On 12 June 2015, a team of officers, acting on information, went to the Bridal Tea House Hotel which is situated at 69 Gillies Avenue South, and surveillance was made particularly at Room 203 of that hotel. At approximately 11.40 am, the officers saw you and a man, the co-accused, Mr Yuen, coming out of Room 203. At that time, Mr Yuen was carrying a black Samsonite backpack. When this backpack was searched, it was found to contain the dangerous drugs which are the subject of the charge.

You were arrested and cautioned and, under caution, you said: “It is Ah Kwan who asked me to take these dangerous drugs here and then she asked me to come and take them back. Don’t know where to take them to”. A tea packet was found in the room and amongst the tea packet was found a large number of resealable plastic bags.

The estimated retail street value of the ‘Ice’ is $2,715,960.

Mr Tse, your counsel, has informed me that as a result of your financial difficulty, you committed this offence. I had heard in evidence from you that you were to receive $30,000 as reward money.

You are 25 years of age and are of clear record. At the time of commission of this offence, you were approximately 6 months pregnant. After your arrest, I heard in trial, that you gave birth to your daughter whilst in custody. At the time of the offence, you still had a young son then aged 2. Those children of yours are now aged 1½ and 4. I am told that your daughter is looked after or cared for by her paternal grandmother and your son by your mother, his maternal grandmother. He resides in China with your mother.

You came to Hong Kong when you were 11 years old and had received education up to Form 3. Mr Tse tells me that you were a beautician at the time of this offence. At the trial, I heard that you had been working, however, at the Regal Hotel. Nevertheless, I have received two letters, one written by yourself and one written by an officer of the Hong Kong Christian Kun Sun Association Limited.

Your letter, which I hope is truly how you feel, speaks volumes of the awareness now and reality of the foolishness and stupidity in committing this offence. Quite accurately, you reflected that your children will now be raised without a mother and a father. You have left this responsibility to the grandparents of the children. You rightly say you have ruined your life and perhaps placed painstaking burdens and effort on the children’s grandparents. This is something you will have to live with every day.

Not only that, you understand, correctly, that trafficking in drugs causes serious harm to society and you were trafficking in a particularly large quantity of drugs. At that time, you were pregnant. According to your evidence, you could not even carry the drugs they were so heavy. You must have known the seriousness of you committing this offence. You knew, you said in your trial, of the risk you ran if you were caught. Yet, you still committed this offence, as your counsel says, because of your financial difficulties. Some people in financial difficulties do usually resort to this type of quick, fast money and almost all quick, fast money lends to committing an offence.

Your plea of guilty has saved the court time and shows me some remorse. The Court of Appeal have laid down guidelines for this offence of trafficking in dangerous drug. Mr Tse has correctly referred to the two authorities for trafficking in ‘Ice’. That is Tam Yi Chun and Abdallah Anwar Abbas. In Tam Yi Chun, the court said for amounts of 600 grammes and over, the same tariffs as are prescribed in Abdallah are to be applied for ‘Ice’. In Abdallah, the guideline for trafficking between 4,000 to 15,000 grammes, or 4 kilogrammes to 15 kilogrammes, warrants a sentence of between 26 to 30 years’ imprisonment, after trial.

Defendant, you were trafficking in the amount of 6.536 kilogrammes of ‘Ice’. Given that quantity of ‘Ice’, had you been convicted after trial, an appropriate starting point would be one of 27 years and 9 months’ imprisonment.

You have pleaded guilty and I give you the one-third discount and you shall be sentenced to 17 years and 10 months’ imprisonment.