HKSAR v FUNG KING LONG

HCCC 33/2013

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 33 OF 2013

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Transcript of the Audio Recording

of the Sentence in the above Case

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COURT: The defendant pleaded guilty to this charge of trafficking in powder containing 160 grammes of ketamine when he appeared at the Eastern Magistrates Court on 18 January this year, and today he has confirmed his plea of guilty and his acceptance of the facts.

The offence was discovered on 15 September 2012 when the defendant was stopped in Mongkok Road. He had been carrying a bag which was found to contain the drugs. The defendant immediately admitted the offence, saying that he had to support a wife and two children and was to be paid $500 for transporting the drugs. He provided no details about the person who had engaged him to do this beyond a nickname, Ah Yan. The value of the ketamine is $32,750 at street level.

The sentencing band under the guidelines in Secretary for Justice v Hii Siew Cheng [2009] 1 HKLRD at 1, into which the quantity of ketamine in this case falls, is 6 to 9 years’ imprisonment for between 50 to 300 grammes. In my judgment, a proper starting point for this case is 7 years and 3 months.

Please stand, Mr Fung. You will receive full credit for your plea of guilty. I can ignore for present purposes your criminal record but, with that record, I am perfectly sure you knew the very high risk you were taking when you undertook to transport ketamine. There are so many jobs for people like you in Hong Kong but you chose to make easy money instead.

The sentence on you is one of 4 years and 10 months’ imprisonment.