COURT: The defendant pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug. The subject dangerous drug is, in total, 1,716.4 grammes of a mixture containing 1,202.8 grammes of ketamine.
On 5 January 2016, the defendant was arrested by the police in an anti-narcotics operation at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Sha Tin. Two transparent resealable plastic bags of ketamine were found on the defendant. Upon search of the defendant’s room, a total of 107 transparent resealable plastic bags containing ketamine were found. Under caution, the defendant said: “The dangerous drugs that you people found upon search are all mine. I brought them to the hotel yesterday. It has nothing to do with the other people”.
Subsequently, the defendant made the same admission in the video-recorded interview to the police.
The estimated retail value of the ketamine involved was over HK$220,000.
The defendant is 35 years old. He received education up to Form 2 level. He was a transportation worker before arrest. His earning was around $12,000 per month. He is single and was living together with his parents in a housing estate in Sha Tin.
The defendant has 11 previous criminal records, but none of which is similar to the present offence. He has several records for possession of dangerous drugs and he was sentenced to the DATC twice, respectively in 2001 and 2002.
In his mitigation for the defendant, Mr Woon, counsel for the defendant, said the defendant is addicted to consumption of ketamine and he spent around $9,000 per month for ketamine. Mr Woon said the defendant owed a debt of $10,000 to “Ah B” and Ah B asked the defendant to safeguard the drugs in the hotel for reduction of half of his debt. The defendant has written a letter to this court, saying that he is now very remorseful.
Trafficking in dangerous drugs is a very serious offence and the Court of Appeal has laid down sentencing guidelines for this kind of offence. In the case Secretary for Justice v Hii Siew Cheng [2009] 1 HKLRD, for trafficking in a quantity of over 1,000 grammes of ketamine, the starting point for sentence should be more than 14 years’ imprisonment. I have also considered the Court of Appeal’s judgment in Sin Chung Kin [2013] 1 HKLRD 627.
In my view, the appropriate starting point in the present case should be 14½ years’ imprisonment. In the present case, apart from the defendant’s guilty plea, there is no other mitigating factor.
Giving a full one-third discount for the defendant’s guilty plea, the sentence is reduced to 9 years and 8 months’ imprisonment.