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DCCC 501/2014
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
CRIMINAL CASE NO 501 OF 2014
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| Before: |
HH Judge Casewell |
| Date: |
23 July 2014 at 3.01 pm |
| Present: |
Miss Manna Wong, PP of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR |
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Mr Chan Tze-chin, of Cheung & Liu, assigned by the Director of Legal Aid, for the defendant |
| Offence: |
Trafficking in dangerous drugs (販運危險藥物) |
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Reasons for Sentence
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1. The defendant has pleaded guilty to one charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug. He has admitted the facts and I have convicted him of the offence.
2. The relevant facts show the offence occurred on 5 March 2014 at the Windsor Palace Hotel in Yau Ma Tei in the evening, where the defendant was seen leaving one of the rooms of the hotel and was intercepted. Inside a handbag that he was carrying, 76 packets of suspected cocaine, 35 packets of suspected cocaine and 49 packets of suspected ketamine were found.
3. The defendant immediately said under caution, “I deliver the drugs only because I have no money to feed myself. Ah Sir, give me a chance.”
4. The defendant made subsequent video recorded interviews in which he admitted trafficking in the dangerous drugs. He told the police he was unemployed. He earned his living by delivering drugs for a reward of $1,000 each time. He knew himself the drugs were ketamine and cocaine and he obtained the drugs from a person called “Ah B”. He was instructed to deliver the drugs seized to a man known as “Ah Kei”. He put the drugs seized in his bag and rented a room at the hotel, because that was where the transaction would take place.
5. The analysis of the drugs shows that narcotic contents of the drugs are 10.7 grammes of cocaine and 26.24 grammes of ketamine.
6. As far as the value is concerned, the cocaine is worth about $30,231, the ketamine about $4,131, giving a total estimated value of the drugs at $34,362, the worth of which is admitted by the defendant.
7. The defendant’s antecedents have been shown to the court. He is aged 49 now. He now claims he is a drug addict to cocaine. He is divorced and a triad society member. He has numerous convictions and was last released from prison on 18 January this year.
8. As far as his criminal record is concerned, he has convictions for drug offences dating back to 1994, mainly possession of a dangerous drug. However, in 2008 there were two offences of trafficking in a dangerous drug, for which he was sentenced to a total of 5 years. Most recently, he was convicted of possession of dangerous drugs and imprisoned for two months, and that is the offence for which he was released most recently.
9. The defendant does not have a lot to say in mitigation. His family members are here, so he still has good family connections, but he admits his position and his role in this matter. He says he had made his way by trafficking in drugs and he was described by his counsel as a foot soldier, a person responsible for the delivery of the goods.
10. Taking a look at the sentencing guidelines, of course, there is a mixture of drug here. Looking at the individual totals, firstly, there is 10.7 grammes of cocaine. That puts it in the sentencing guideline range of 2 to 5 years’ imprisonment, given that 5 years’ imprisonment is for a quantity up to 10 grammes of cocaine. As far as the ketamine is concerned, there was a total of 26.24 grammes of that drug, and that puts it in the range of 4 to 6 years’ imprisonment, that being the range of 10 to 15 grammes of that drug.
11. As I have indicated already, I am dealing here with a combination or what is described as a “cocktail drugs” and in sentencing where there is more than one kind of drug the court can adopt different approaches.
12. I consider in this case what is described as “the combined approach” as the appropriate approach. This involves the calculation of the applicable sentence for the main or most serious drug in terms of potency. I then take into account any significant quantities of other less serious drugs. This provides what is described as a “realistic” sentence.
13. So the most serious drug in this case, on a sentencing basis, would appear to be the cocaine, where the starting point would be 5 years’ imprisonment. Then, one takes into account the further quantity of ketamine.
14. I consider, that in respect of the drug that one is dealing with here, a starting point of 6 years’ imprisonment for the drug alone would be realistic.
15. I also have to take into account the defendant is no stranger to these courts or to offences of trafficking. He was released from a sentence involving a drug offence possession of a dangerous drug on 18 January.
16. I consider a further addition to the sentence to reflect the persistence of offending and the lack of deterrent effect of previous sentences is also appropriate here.
17. This means in this case I will take an overall starting point of 6 years and 6 months’ imprisonment. That is a total of 78 months.
18. The defendant is, of course, entitled to a one-third discount from that, which gives a figure of, by my calculations, 52 months’ imprisonment, which can otherwise be expressed as 4 years and 4 months’ imprisonment, and that is the sentence I will impose in this matter.
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(T Casewell)
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District Judge |
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