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DCCC384/2011
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 384 OF 2011
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HKSAR
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v.
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Hau Yuet-yau (D1)
Wong Wing-fat (D2)
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| Before:
Deputy District Judge Giles Surman
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| Date:
18 August 2011 at 4.39 pm
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| Present:
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Miss Phillis Loh, Counsel on fiat, for HKSAR
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Miss Chan Man-yee Cannise, instructed by Messrs V Hau & Chow, for the 1st defendant
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Miss Chan Suk-chi Terry, instructed by K B Chau & Co., for the 2nd defendant
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| Offence:
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(1) & (5) Trafficking in dangerous drugs (販運危險藥物)
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(2) & (4) Possession of a dangerous drug (管有危險藥物)
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(3) Trafficking in a dangerous drug (販運危險藥物)
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Reasons for Sentence
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1. The 1st defendant, you have pleaded guilty to two separate offences, both of which involve the trafficking in a dangerous drug or drugs.
2. The 1st charge is that on 4 January, as a result of a police anti-narcotics operation, you were stopped and searched and found to have on your person various amounts of drugs:
19 tablets containing 0.25 grammes of midazolam and
1.94 grammes of heroin.
3. You were arrested, cautioned and admitted that the items were dangerous drugs, and further, that although you were going to sell some of these drugs, most of them were for your own consumption.
4. The 2nd charge to which you have pleaded guilty to is Charge 5. This was 14 February 2011. You were stopped and searched by a patrolling police officer, searched, and you were found to have, again, some dangerous drugs on your person:
49 tablets, 0.67 grammes of midazolam, and 3.91 grammes of heroin. Upon arrest and after caution, you stated that these drugs were for your own consumption and were purchased in bulk in order to obtain a discounted price.
5. Your counsel has mitigated very fully on your behalf and that you have been an attendee at a methadone clinic for some 20 years, and that although you have used heroin in the past, you are not a daily user. You only use it because of a stomach complaint, but now that your health problem seems to have been resolved, you no longer really need it.
6. I was told that you have been reliant on CSSA since 2002. You have six children, all of whom are grown up, and that these two offences took place at or near the Chinese New Year when you had some money that had been given to you by your children, enabling you to purchase drugs in greater quantities.
7. Now, I called for a DATC report. That report says that you are no longer drug-dependent.
8. Despite that, your counsel urges me to send you to the DATC, saying amongst other things that you still fear that you may have some addiction to drugs and that you would benefit from going to the DATC.
9. Though any reports that I call for are not binding on me, I am not going to send you to the DATC; I am going to send you to prison.
10. For Charge 1, I take a starting point of 2 years. I reduce that by one-third to take account of your plea, thus arriving at a sentence of 16 months.
11. Charge 2, a starting point of 2 years, reduce it by one-third to take account of your plea; sentence 16 months.
12. Although you committed the second of your two offences, namely Charge 5, whilst you were on bail, and therefore, the sentence by right should be entirely consecutive, I am going to take account the question of totality.
13. Bearing in mind all of the circumstances of this case, I am going to order that 10 months of the 16 months in Charge 5 be concurrent with Charge 1; 6 months be consecutive.
14. So to recap, that is 16 months on Charge 1; 16 months on Charge 5; 6 months of which is consecutive. 16 plus 6 is
22 months’ imprisonment.
15. That is the sentence I impose on you. You can sit down.
16. I then turn to you, 2nd defendant. You have pleaded guilty and been convicted by me of a total of three offences:
(1) Charge 2, possession of dangerous drugs, 4 January 2011;
(2) Charge 3, trafficking in dangerous drugs on the same day, 4 January; and
(3) Charge 4, possession of dangerous drugs on
26 January this year.
17. I have listened carefully to what your counsel has had to say and also I called for a DATC report in respect of you, and I have taken into account everything that has been said on your behalf, and I am aware that you have been in custody since your arrest on 26 January.
18. Let me start by telling you what the sentence is in respect of Charge 3; that is, the trafficking in dangerous drugs charge. I take a starting point of 9 months, reduce it by one-third to take account of your plea. That is a sentence of
6 months.
19. Charge 2, I take a starting point of 6 months, reduce it by one-third for your plea; 4 months.
20. Charge 4, I take a starting point of 3 months, I reduce it by one-third; a sentence of 2 months, and I order that all of those sentences run concurrently with one another.
21. The total sentence, therefore, I impose, is one of
6 months’ imprisonment, and as I do so, I am aware of how long you have already been in custody.
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(Giles Surman)
Deputy District Judge |
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