CRIMINAL CASE NO. 92 OF 2010
COURT: The defendant, a 47 year old Kenyan female, was convicted by a jury of an offence of trafficking in 123.28 grammes of monoacetylmorphine hydrochloride and 979.26 grammes of heroin hydrochloride.
On 12 October 2009 she had brought the drugs into Hong Kong on a flight from India which had arrived via Singapore. The drugs were contained in 10 packets hidden in the lining of five handbags which were in turn contained in her suitcase.
I have been provided with the witness statement of Dr Ng Po‑king, a forensic scientist employed within the Government Laboratory. That statement has been provided to me with the consent of both Mr Dunn for the prosecution and Mr Chau for the defendant.
For the reasons set out in that statement I accept that both forms of the drug are of similar toxicity. Both are forms of salts of esters of morphine and, accordingly, I propose to sentence on that basis. There is no dispute as to that approach by either Mr Dunn or Mr Chau.
Therefore I treat both forms of the drug as falling within the guidelines set out in Abdallah Anwar Abbas. The totality of drug is 1,102.54 grammes.
I adopt, on that basis, an initial starting point of sentence of 22 years' imprisonment. I enhance that by two years to reflect the international dimension of the offence so as to arrive at a starting point of sentence of 24 years' imprisonment.
Whilst the family circumstances of the defendant promote some degree of sympathy, nevertheless they are not of a sort as to amount to any mitigation of substance. Nor has any other mitigation been presented to me. Nor, on the facts of this case, was there any available.
Accordingly the defendant is sentenced to 24 years' imprisonment.