HKSAR v. YUAN KWONG SHING

HCCC 102/2017

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 102 OF 2017

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Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case

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COURT:

The defendant, Mr Yuan Kwong-shing, pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in dangerous drugs during the committal proceedings. The offence is contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Chapter 134.

The particulars are that the defendant, on the 1st day of October 2016, at Lok Cheung House, Tsz Lok Estate, Tsz Wan Shan, Kowloon, in Hong Kong, unlawfully trafficked in dangerous drugs, namely 141 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 131 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride and 3.12 grammes of a solid containing 2.51 grammes of cocaine.

The defendant is committed to this court for sentencing.

Facts Admitted

At about 1045 hours on 1 October 2016, police officers intercepted the defendant at the lobby of Lok Cheung House, Tsz Lok Estate, Tsz Wan Shan, Wong Tai Sin, for investigations. Inside the plastic bag carried by the defendant, the police officers found one resealable plastic bag containing 141 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 131 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride and one resealable plastic bag containing 13 smaller resealable plastic bags. Inside these 13 smaller resealable plastic bags, there was a total weight of 3.12 grammes of a solid containing 2.51 grammes of cocaine.

Under arrest and caution, the defendant admitted that he delivered the dangerous drugs from Sham Shui Po to Tsz Wan Shan for someone for a reward of $1,000.

In a video-recorded interview conducted subsequently, the defendant admitted that he had acted on the instructions of a person named “Ah Ming” to collect the dangerous drugs in question at a park near Tai Po Road, Sham Shui Po. He was to deliver the dangerous drugs to Tsz Wan Shan Centre where he would put the drugs down at the side of a litter bin, outside the McDonald’s restaurant. When he arrived there by a taxi, he saw some police officers, so he returned home at Lok Cheung House where he was arrested. He had not yet received the reward of $1,000 promised by Ah Ming.

The estimated market retail value of the dangerous drugs in question was $51,768.

Criminal record

The defendant has 4 previous convictions of which 3 were possession of a dangerous drug. He was last convicted of an offence of possession of a dangerous drug on 8 May 2015 for which he was sentenced to Drug Addiction Treatment Centre.

Mitigation

The defendant is aged 38, single, and has a cohabitee girlfriend and a daughter who is now aged 11 months. The defendant was educated up to Form 5 and had been a construction site worker. His last job before arrest was a glass installation worker earning about $13,000 a month. He has been a drug addict since 1996, starting with cannabis and switched to methamphetamine hydrochloride, or commonly called ‘Ice’, in 2011. About a month before the offence, he became unemployed and he committed the offence in order to earn quick money to sustain his drug addiction.

The counsel for the defendant submits to court a letter of the Department of Health, certifying that the defendant has registered as an organ donor. He also submits to court a letter of the defendant in mitigation. The defendant expresses remorsefulness in the letter. He states that the passing away of his parents while he was in custody dealt a tragic blow to him. He has now come to know about the Christian religion and has joined a study class of the religion. He has now reflected on his wrongdoing and is determined to turn a new leaf in life. He hopes to be reunited with his girlfriend and daughter as soon as possible. He asks for a lenient sentence.

Counsel for the defendant sets out in mitigation the sentencing guidelines for trafficking in cocaine and ‘Ice’ and asks the court to adopt a starting point of not more than 12 years imprisonment.

Sentence

According to AG v Rojas [1994] 1 HKC 342, the sentencing tariffs for trafficking in cocaine are the same as those for trafficking in heroin hydrochloride. The Court of Appeal set down the guidelines for sentencing in the trafficking of ‘Ice’ in the case of HKSAR v Tam Yi Chun [2014] 3 HKLRD 691. For a quantity of 70 to 300 grammes of ‘Ice’, the starting point is 11 to 15 years’ imprisonment.

As compared to the amount of ‘Ice’, the amount of cocaine in the present case is very small. Since the sentencing guideline for the two types of narcotics do not differ much, the court is of the view that in the interests of justice, the proper way to deal with them is, as suggested by the defence counsel in his mitigation, to add them together for the purpose of sentencing. By doing this, the amount of ‘Ice’ in the present case will become 133.51 grammes and this will bring about a starting point of slightly more than 12 years imprisonment.

The court has much sympathy for the defendant for losing his parents while he was in custody. Taking this and other circumstances of this case into consideration, the court adopts a starting point of 12 years imprisonment.

Giving credit to the defendant for his plea of guilty, the court sentences him to 8 years imprisonment.