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DCCC625/2009
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 625 OF 2009
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Before:
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H H Judge S. D’Almada Remedios
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Date:
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24 July 2009 at 11.35 am
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Present:
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Miss Samantha Chiu, PP, of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR
Mr Cheng Ki-yeung, Paul, of Messrs Tang, Leung, Li & Tsang, assigned by the Director of Legal Aid, for the defendant
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Offence:
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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 an offence 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 15 April 2009 outside No.274 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, you unlawfully trafficked in 12.99 grammes of a powder containing 10.84 grammes of ketamine. On that day in question a police officer patrolling outside that location, who was on anti-drugs activities, saw you acting and behaving furtively. It was about 10.57 pm that evening, and he suspected that you were in possession of dangerous drugs, so he intercepted you.
3. Upon search by the police officer, a metal box containing two transparent resealable bags containing the dangerous drugs was found in your jeans pocket. You were then arrested for trafficking in dangerous drugs and cautioned.
4. Under caution you said you lacked money, so you helped someone to bring the “K Chai” to Causeway Bay in order to earn more money.
5. You are 24 years of age and have four previous convictions, all of which relate to possession of dangerous drugs. The first offence was in 2002. You were sentenced to probation. The second offence was 2003. You were sentenced to the drug addiction treatment centre. Four years later, in 2007, you received a sentence of 3 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 2 years. Just last month, on 19 June, you were also sentenced for a further offence and received 2 months’ imprisonment. The suspended sentence was activated and you are now serving a 5-month period of imprisonment.
6. Your solicitor, Mr Cheng, has made very full mitigation on your behalf, and I have taken into account everything that he has had to say for you. I have also taken into account the letter that you have written to this court expressing your remorse for committing this offence.
7. You are supported here in court today by your mother and elder brother. And I am informed that from a young age your parents were divorced and separated and, as a result, you received little supervision. You were unable to achieve a good academic result and therefore went out to work at an early age. During the time you worked as a transportation worker, you then came to know some dubious peers who then introduced you to dangerous drugs. Since that time, therefore, you have been taking drugs and, as reflected by your record, have been sentenced on various occasions.
8. As can be seen from the sentences you received, you received sentences beginning as from the most lenient to sentences progressing to the more and more serious. As Mr Cheng rightly reflects, an offence of possession of dangerous drugs to trafficking in dangerous drugs is a very great difference in the type of offences. The offence of trafficking being a very serious offence.
9. I have of course no doubt you knew of the severity of this offence. I accept what Mr Cheng says, that despite you knowing that, you immediately admitted your involvement in this offence upon your arrest. As you now know, being momentarily greedy or earning quick money also leads you into very serious trouble.
10. You have informed me that having now been remanded in custody and reflected upon your past, you will try not to offend the law and become a law-abiding citizen. Knowing that you will spend some time in imprisonment, you have also committed yourself to utilizing the time whilst in prison to study and learn some useful classes. This is, I hope, a very mature and genuinely committed view that you have taken because you are still a very young man and have a very long life ahead of you. It is not too late to turn over a new leaf now. You have family support, you should treasure that.
11. As Mr Cheng rightly says, this offence is serious and there are guidelines and tariffs to which this court must follow. The prosecutor has rightly referred me to the proper authority of Hii Siew Cheng. You had trafficked in 10.84 grammes of ketamine, and that falls within the tariff of 10 to 50 grammes of which the starting point after trial is 4 to 6 years’ imprisonment.
12. I take a starting point here of 4 years’ imprisonment, and give you the full one-third discount for your plea of guilty and reduce that term to one of 2 years 8 months’ imprisonment, to which you are so sentenced for this offence.
13. In considering the principle of totality, you are presently serving a 5-month term of imprisonment. Of those 5 months, 3 of them had been activated from your suspended sentence in 2007, 2 months was that of the offence you committed in April this year, shortly before the commission of this trafficking offence. In considering the principle of totality, I consider that a period of 2 years 7 months should run consecutively to your present sentence and one month of this to run concurrently to your present sentence.
14. That means in total with this sentence today and your previous sentence, you will be serving a total of 3 years’ imprisonment. Understand?
DEFENDANT: Understand.
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(S. D'Almada Remedios) |
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District Judge |
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