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HCCC151/2009
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 151 OF 2009
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| Before: |
Deputy High Court Judge Longley |
| Date: |
8 July 2009 at 9.47 am |
| Present: |
Mr Harish Hariram Melwaney, SPP of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR
Mr Wu Kam-fun, Roderick, instructed by Louis Chan & Co., for the Accused |
| Offence: |
Trafficking in a dangerous drug (販運危險藥物) |
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Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case
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COURT: Lam Chun-ho, you have been committed to this court for sentence following your plea of guilty in the Magistrates’ Court to trafficking in 243.69 grammes of a powder containing a 188.91 grammes of ketamine.
You admitted that on 23 December last year, acting on instructions, you had collected those drugs - which were contained in two plastic bags - from a flowerbed near Tung Heung Estate Light Rail Station, and that you had taken them then to Nam Cheong MTR Station in order to deliver them to a man who, you were told, would give you $15,000. According to you, your reward for making this delivery would have been $3,000. This was a substantial quantity of drugs. The estimated retail value was $28,999.
At the time of this offence you were 18 years of age. This is not the first time that you have been involved with the criminal law. On 21 September 2007 you were sentenced to detention in a detention centre in respect of an offence of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and an offence of false imprisonment. You were discharged from the detention centre on 13 May last year. You were then under supervision of CSD officers. During this period of supervision, seven months after your release you committed this offence. It is extremely disappointing that you had not decided to lead a law-abiding life after your earlier period of detention in a detention centre. You were an adult of 18 years of age. You would have known that very serious consequences would follow if you were caught. Nonetheless, you decided to take the risk in return for easy money.
This offence is far too serious to warrant any other course than a substantial term of imprisonment. In my view, the appropriate starting point for this offence is 7½ years’ imprisonment. The fact that you were 18 at the time is not a factor that warrants any discount in sentence. You have, however, pleaded guilty and are entitled to the usual discount of one-third.
I accordingly sentence you to 5 years’ imprisonment. I very much hope that this is the last time that you ever come before the courts in Hong Kong.
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