HKSAR v. SO SHING LOI

HCCC 275/2014

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 275 OF 2014

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REASONS FOR SENTENCE

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1.  The defendant pleaded guilty at the Eastern Magistracy on 20 June 2014 to the offence of trafficking in a dangerous drug. The particulars of the offence were that the defendant, on 16 December 2013, outside a room in Heng Lung House, Fu Heng Estate, Chung Nga Road, Tai Po, New Territories, unlawfully trafficked in a dangerous drug, namely 98.76 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 97.68 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride (commonly known as “ICE”).

2.  The facts agreed to by the defendant upon his plea of guilty were as follows.  At about 7.25 pm on 16 December 2013 a team of police officers conducted an anti‑drug operation at Heng Lung House.  The defendant was observed by the police as he was walking towards a room on the 19^th floor and was stopped for questioning.  He was searched and found inside his waist bag were 21 resealable transparent plastic bags containing substances that were later confirmed to be a quantity of ICE, an electronic scale and a number of empty resealable transparent plastic bags.  He admitted that the substances were ICE.  He was arrested and, under caution, stated that he purchased the ICE from a person named “Ah Kit” who had told him to collect the drugs from the rear staircase near a room on the 17^th floor.  It was his intention to take the drugs back to his home, repack them and sell them in order to earn some money. 

3.  A search was conducted at the defendant’s home but no further illegal substances or related items were found.  In a subsequent recorded interview, the defendant elaborated on his drug trafficking activities.  He claimed that about a week prior to his arrest, Ah Kit offered to sell him 100 grammes of ICE for the sum of $15,000.  He accepted the offer and Ah Kit then told him that he would place the drugs on the 17^th floor at the rear staircase of Heng Lung House for him to collect on 16 December 2013. Ah Kit also told the defendant that he could pay him for the drugs after he successfully sold the lot.  The defendant did as arranged and collected the ICE at the rear staircase moments before he was arrested.  He also admitted that he had previously bought the electronic scale and empty resealable plastic bags seized from him.  It was his intention to repack the ICE and put 1.75 grammes of ICE into each small bag and sell the drugs at $300 per bag at a games centre in Kowloon.

4.  The street value of the dangerous drugs was estimated at $42,566.

5.  There is very little that can be meaningfully said on behalf of the defendant in mitigation.  He has a prior criminal record involving previous offences for drugs and violence.  He has a poor work history, having performed various construction jobs in the past, although he had qualified as a scaffolding worker.  He was unemployed at the time of the offence.  

6.  It is submitted that he committed the offence because of financial and family pressure. At the time of the offence, his fiancee was pregnant and has since given birth to a son.  I note he was previously married and has two teenage children with whom he has had little contact.  His fiancee has submitted a letter to me pleading that he be treated leniently and claiming that he committed this offence out of concern for the welfare of his fiancee and child.  But this matters little in light of the offence he has committed which showed a complete disregard by him for the welfare of the other people to whom he intended to sell the drugs.  In any event, it is no excuse for an offence of such seriousness.  It is also submitted that he has an addiction to ICE and that he planned to use some of the drugs for self consumption.  This is contrary to the admitted facts where it is stated that he was to package and sell all the drugs he purchased from Ah Kit.  In any event, it is acknowledged in submission that he intended to sell all the drugs.  I do not accept for the purposes of sentencing that some of the drugs were for self consumption.  The only mitigating factor is his plea of guilty for which he is entitled to receive a one third discount from the starting point to be imposed.

7.  According to the sentencing guideline case of AG v Ching Kwong Hung [1991] 2 HKLR 125, a starting point for a quantity of 97.68 grammes of ICE within the indicated tariff band is 10 years and 6 months’ imprisonment.  Within the indicated tariff bands, the court may take into account mitigating or aggravating factors that may warrant an upward or downward adjustment of the indicated tariff.  In light of the circumstances of the offence, the fact that the defendant had agreed that he bought the drugs with the intention to package and sell them to others at a games centre is very serious and warrants the full measure of the indicated tariff.  I impose a starting point of 10 years and 6 months’ imprisonment which is reduced by one third for the defendant’s plea of guilty to seven years’ imprisonment.  Accordingly, the defendant is sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment.