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DCCC462/2010
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 462 OF 2010
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Date:
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3 June 2010 at 11.08 am
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Present:
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Ms Jennifer Fok, PP of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR
Mr Stephen Hung, of Messrs Pang, Wan & Choi, assigned by the Director of Legal Aid, for the Defendant
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Offence:
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(1) & (2) 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 charges of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Chapter 134, Laws of Hong Kong. The 1st charge relates to 1.27 grammes of ketamine and the 2nd 30.89 grammes of ketamine.
2. The Summary of Facts which you have admitted are straightforward and indicate that shortly after midnight on 4 March of this year, police officers saw you leaving your premises at Mei Yue House, Shek Kip Mei Estate, Sham Shui Po, acting suspiciously. They intercepted and searched you and found from your rear trouser pocket a plastic bag containing the drugs being the subject matter of the 1st charge.
3. You were taken back into your premises where, pursuant to a house search, three plastic bags containing the drugs being the subject matter of the 2nd charge were found. In addition, typical drug-trafficking paraphernalia was found such as resealable plastic bags and some electronic scales.
4. In a video-recorded interview with the police, you told them that you bought the drugs from a bar in Tsim Sha Tsui for $4,000, and you would divide up the drugs and put them into bags for sale.
5. You are 21 years of age now and already have one previous conviction for trafficking in dangerous drugs in 2007 when you were sent to a training centre. I am told by way of mitigation that you did well in training centre and upon your release were able to keep out of trouble, working as a delivery worker for some six months until you succumbed to your previous lifestyle of associating with your old friends. You started toying around with ketamine, and your counsel tells me that six months or so before the commission of the present offences, you became addicted to ketamine, and in order to support your habit, you took to selling it to obtain the necessary funds.
6. Although you come from a single-parent family, you enjoy the support of your mother who, I am told, is in court today. It is sad to see a young life being destroyed by ketamine abuse which is so prevalent in this day and age and particularly so in your case when you had been doing so well after you initially were released from the training centre.
7. I am asked to give you a further chance, but the reality is that the only mitigation is your early plea of guilty to these charges, for which I will give you due credit.
8. In relation to Charge 1, I adopt a starting point of 2 years' imprisonment which will be reduced by one-third to take account of your plea of guilty, coming to 16 months' imprisonment on Charge 1.
9. So far as Charge 2 is concerned, I adopt 5 years' imprisonment as my starting point. Once again, I will reduce this by one-third to take account of your plea of guilty, coming to 3 years and 4 months on Charge 2.
10. I order both sentences to run concurrently with each other, coming to 3 years and 4 months' imprisonment in all.
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H H Judge Geiser |
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District Judge |
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