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DCCC201/2010
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
CRIMINAL CASE NO.201 OF 2010
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Before:
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Deputy District Judge A Yim
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Date:
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27 September 2010 at 10:27am
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Present:
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Mr. Keith HOTTEN, Counsel on Fiat, of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR
Mr. Niehorster James William, instructed by Messrs M.C.A. Lai & Co., assigned by the Director of Legal Aid, for the defendant
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Offence:
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(1)Trafficking in a dangerous drug (販運危險藥物)
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Reasons for Sentence
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The defendant was charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap.134.
The defendant pleaded guilty and admitted the facts, he is convicted accordingly.
Facts
At around 7;00pm the defendant was found sleeping alone inside the flat in question. In the presence of the defendant, a search was conducted in his bedroom. Inside a wooden drawer underneath his bed the following were found:
- 41 transparent re-sealable plastic bags each containing solid cocaine, in total there are 19.09 gm of a solid containing 13.23 gm of cocaine.
- 1 electronic scale
- 2 stacks of empty transparent re-sealable plastic bags of different sizes
Under caution, the defendant admitted possession of the ‘Coke’ and intended to earn some quick money for he had a substantial amount of outstanding credit card debts.
In December 2009, total retail value of those drugs amounted to approximately HK$15,577.
Mitigation
The defendant aged 23, at time of the offence he was 22, with one conviction record in 2003. The defendant was gainfully employed until September 2009; he committed the offence because of a substantial credit card debt. The family helped him to pay off the debt. After the offence, he was remanded until 25 February this year, thereafter he works as a transportation worker. The defendant came from a decent family and has full family support. The defendant’s father recently diagnosed with nasal cancer in third stage and currently undergoing treatment. The defendant has committed a serious offence; I do not consider the medical condition of the father amount to a mitigating factor.
Cocaine is a hard drug; I refer to the tariff in the case of Lau Tak-ming [1990] 2 HKLR 370; in view of the defendant’s age at time of the offence and his positive changes since he released on bail, I take a lower starting point and consider 5 years is appropriate in his case.
The defendant entitled to 1/3 discount for his plea. I do not consider there to be any further mitigating factor called for further deduction.
Order
The defendant is sentenced to 40 months imprisonment.
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(A. Yim) |
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Deputy District Judge |
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