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DCCC624/2011
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 624 OF 2011
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Before:
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H H Judge Tallentire
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Date:
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6 October 2011 at 10.06 am
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Present:
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Mr Alex Wong, PP of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR
Mr Cheung Kam-wing, Adonis, instructed by Y T Chan & Co., for the Defendant
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Offence:
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(1) – (3) Trafficking in a dangerous drug (販運危險藥物)
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Reasons for Sentence
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1. Defendant, you have pleaded guilty to two offences of trafficking in dangerous drugs, each contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap.134.
2. You admitted the brief facts and I convicted you.
3. You denied the first offence which I ordered to be left on file and not to be proceeded with without leave of this court or the Court of Appeal.
4. The facts are as follows.
Charge 2
5. On 10 December last, PC5890, who was PW1, and other police officers conducted an anti-dangerous drugs operation in Club Else located on the 6th Floor, Ashley Centre, Nos. 23-25 Ashley Street, Tsim Sha Tsui.
6. At about 0140 hours, you were in Club Else with PW1 who was posted as a police decoy. You asked PW1 if he would like to buy some ketamine at $100 per plastic bag and PW1 answered in the affirmative. You took PW1 to the rear staircase of the 6th Floor of the Ashley Centre. You handed him a plastic bag containing suspected dangerous drugs, which is Exhibit 1. PW1 paid $100 to you.
Charge 3
7. On 19 December last, PC9343 (PW2), and other police officers conducted an anti-dangerous drugs operation at Club YY on the 7th Floor, No.1 Hanoi Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. At about 0305 hours, you were in Room 6 at Club YY with PW2, who was posted as a police decoy. You asked him if he would like some ketamine at $100 per plastic bag. PW2 agreed, he handed you $100 and you left for a while and then returned to Room 6. You handed him a plastic bag containing suspected dangerous drugs (Exhibit 2).
8. At about 0408 hours, PW2 identified you as the person selling Exhibit 2 in the paragraph above. DPC34311 then arrested you. In a subsequent Identification Parade, PW1 identified you as the person who sold Exhibit 1.
9. Subsequent analysis confirmed that:
(i) Exhibit 1 contained 0.37 grammes of a powder containing 0.25 grammes of ketamine.
(ii) Exhibit 2 contained 0.55 grammes of a powder containing 0.39 grammes of ketamine.
10. At the time of your arrest you had no cash on you. The estimated street value of the drugs is, first of all, Exhibit 1, about $46, and secondly, Exhibit 2, about $68.
11. You are a young man of hitherto clear record. In view of your clear record, your youth and the small amount of ketamine involved, which is 0.64 grammes, I called for a DATC report and a probation officer’s background report.
12. I have read and considered those reports today. You are not deemed to be suitable for DATC for reasons given.
13. Mr Cheung informed me that subject to three minor and unimportant corrections, both reports were accepted. He then went on to enter mitigation on your behalf. He stressed your clear record and the small amount of ketamine involved, your relative youth, also, that from an early stage you had indicated a plea of guilty. Your involvement was to assist friends to sell the drugs. He also quite rightly stressed that both offences were close in time.
14. He said you had been frank with the probation officer, disclosing that you had in the past taken drugs but you were no longer drug-dependant.
15. He referred me to a letter that you had written to the court. The essence of that letter was that upon release you intend to go straight.
16. He realistically acknowledged that a custodial sentence was appropriate. There is no tariff attaching to this amount of drugs but suggested a starting point of approximately 18 months.
17. I turn to the sentence itself.
18. In my opinion, this case could well have been dealt with by the Magistrates’ Court even if you had been convicted of all three offences. However, be that as it may, you are before me now.
19. I have taken into account the facts of the case, the contents of the report. I note that you are but 18 years of age, of clear record, and the trafficking involved a modest quantity. With respect, I agree with Mr Cheung as to assessment of a starting point.
20. There are two offences, but in my opinion, this is a course of conduct. Therefore, on each offence I take a starting point of 18 months’ imprisonment reduced to 12 months for your plea of guilty. You will go to prison for 12 months on each, concurrent.
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Tallentire
District Judge |
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