HKSAR v. TAM KWOK LUN

DCCC1002/2010

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 1002 OF 2010

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.  Defendant, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance.

2.  You have admitted that, on 10 July 2010, near lamppost no. FC2217 in Tuen Fu Road, Tuen Mun, in Hong Kong, you unlawfully trafficked in 26.33 grammes of a powder containing 15.48 grammes of ketamine. On 10 July, at about 2.12 am, police officers were on an anti-dangerous drugs operation in the vicinity of Fu Tai Estate, Tuen Mun.  They saw you alight from a private car which was parked near to that lamppost.  The officers described you to be acting in a suspicious manner.

3.  You were approached by the officers, and the officers conducted a body search on you.  Found upon you, inside the front right pocket of your trousers, were two transparent re-sealable plastic bags, each containing the dangerous drugs.

4.  You were arrested for trafficking in dangerous drugs, and, under caution, you admitted that you were delivering the two bags of “K Chai” to a person named “Ah Keung” for a financial gain of $150. 

5.  Inside the glove compartment of the private car which you had alighted from, the police officers found, amongst other things, a transparent receivable plastic bag containing 20 smaller transparent re-sealable plastic bags.  The estimated street value of the drug was approximately $2,800. 

6.  Your counsel, Mr Yip, has made full and thorough mitigation on your behalf.  I have taken into account all that he has had to say.  You are 25 years of age and have two previous convictions for possession of dangerous drugs.  For those convictions you were sentenced to drug rehabilitation treatment centre in 2009.

7.  You were an air-conditioning maintenance worker, earning a monthly income of about $13,000.  Mr Yip has read to me the letter you have written to me.  That expresses your deep remorse for committing this very serious offence and you are sorry for your misdeeds as you have disappointed your parents, and that once you have served your term you will start anew.

8.  Mr Yip was quite correct in referring the court to the case of Secretary for Justice and Hii Siew Cheng, the guideline case for trafficking in ketamine, and quite correctly you do fall within the third bracket of trafficking in 10 to 50 grammes of ketamine, for which an appropriate sentence, after trial, is to be 4 to 6 years’ imprisonment. 

9.  Defendant, you had in your possession, for trafficking, 15.48 grammes of ketamine.  In those circumstances I take a starting point of 4 years' imprisonment.  Giving you full credit for your plea of guilty and reducing that term by one-third, you are sentenced to 2 years and 8 months’ imprisonment.