HKSAR v. CHEUNG LOK MAN

DCCC 790/2013

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO 790 OF 2013

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.  The defendant pleaded guilty to a charge of trafficking in 10.8 grammes of cocaine. He also pleaded guilty to a charge of using a forged identity card.

2.  The facts admitted by the defendant disclose that at 4.20 am on 29 May 2013, officers were patrolling at the ground floor of Shantung Street in Mongkok.  They saw the defendant in the vicinity and saw him put his hand into his front left pocket of his trousers.  The defendant turned immediately on seeing the police and they later intercepted him.

3.  A search was conducted and the police recovered the drugs, the subject of the charge, which were in 60 plastic bags.  The defendant was asked to produce his identity card.  He produced an identity card in the name of Chang Sze-lung, and the number was P975170(3).

4.  The defendant was arrested and remained silent under caution.  At the time of his arrest, the defendant was in possession of just over $4,200 and a mobile phone.

5.  The defendant was then taken for a house search and it was during that search that the police discovered his real name.  The card which he had produced to the police officers was sent for forensic examination and discovered to be a forgery.

6.  In a video-recorded interview, the defendant stated that he had met some friends earlier that evening to sing at a karaoke establishment in Mongkok at 2.30 to 3 am.

7.  The estimated street value of the drugs seized from the defendant is slightly in excess of $22,000.

8.  The defendant has a clear record.  He is aged 24 and educated to Secondary 2 level.  I am told that his parents who are in court today, he used to live with them but moved out from the family home about nine months ago because of his poor relationship with his father.  During that nine-month period, he had been living with friends.  I am told that his father works as a security guard and his mother works as a part-time waitress.  There are no siblings.

9.  I am told that the defendant started work when he was 16.  He took a hairdressing course with IVE.  He worked as a transportation worker, a hair salon apprentice and a salesperson.  I am told that thereafter, for some three to four years, he worked as a financial consultant earning approximately $30,000 per month.  I am told that he found that work too stressful and gave it up.  Unfortunately, it was due to the pressure of work and because of the influence of peers that he started to take cocaine and it became an addiction.

10.  I am told that although the defendant was found in possession of 60 packets, some of those would be for distribution and sharing amongst his friends, and he had just been at a karaoke establishment shortly before he was arrested.

11.  With regard to the possession and use of the forged identity card, I am told that the defendant had been on bail and was on bail at the time of this offence in respect of an allegation of arson.  I am told that one of the conditions of that bail was that he report once a month to a police station, and he had failed to report on 27 November.  The defendant knew that there was a warrant outstanding for his arrest and he foolishly obtained this forged identity card because of that situation.  I am told that subsequently that charge was not pursued.

12.  A letter has been placed before the court written by the defendant.  In the letter, the defendant says that he has been in custody since his arrest in May for a period of five months and now bitterly regrets his situation.  He is very concerned about the anxiety and stress that he has caused particularly to his mother who suffers from sciatica and who has visited him on a regular basis whilst he has been in custody.  He states in his letter that whilst in custody, he intends to pursue educational opportunities with a view to seeking better employment when he is later released.

13.  I am told that at the time of his arrest, he was suffering from gastritis which is a side effect of his addiction to cocaine, whilst in custody he has had medical treatment for that condition which has now been alleviated.  

14.  Trafficking in drugs is obviously a serious offence as the defendant well knows.  Drugs cause enormous social problems in Hong Kong, and the Court of Appeal has stated that deterrent sentences must be imposed for offences of this kind. 

15.  Because of the quantity of drugs involved in this case, the appropriate sentence is between 5 to 8 years.  I propose to take a starting point at the lowest end of that sentencing band, namely, 5 years.  I propose to reduce that by 9 months to reflect the fact that not all the drugs were for trafficking.  That would mean a starting point of 51 months.

16.  The defendant is entitled to a reduction in that sentence because of his guilty plea.  That sentence will be reduced to 34 months.

17.  In respect of the 2nd charge, I take a starting point of 12 months and reduce that by one-third to reflect the guilty plea.  So the sentence on Charge 2 will be 8 months’ imprisonment.

18.  I am required to consider the question of totality.  The offences are very separate and different and sentencing principles would normally dictate that they be ordered to run consecutively.  However, looking at the overall criminality involved in this matter, what I have decided to do is order that 4 months of the sentence on Charge 2 run consecutive to the sentence on Charge 1.  The total period of imprisonment therefore will be one of 38 months.