COURT: Defendant, you have pleaded guilty to a single charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap. 134, Laws of Hong Kong. The particulars being that you on 26 June of last year at room 1903, Wai Sam House, Lung Hang Estate, Fu Kin Street, Sha Tin, unlawfully trafficked in 580 grammes of ketamine.
The summary of facts, which you have agreed, establish that in the earlier hours of the evening on the date in question, a party of police gained entry into premises at the above location where they found you. Pursuant to a search of the premises, they also found a number of resealable plastic bags containing the drugs, being the subject matter of the charge. They also found a number of other exhibits, consistent with trafficking in the drugs including a large number of resealable plastic bags and electronic scales.
You were arrested and subsequently cautioned, in answer to which you admitted the offence, telling the police that you were storing the drugs for your friend for which you were paid $1,000.
Although 28 at the time of the offence, you are 30 years of age now, unmarried and have three prior convictions for drug related offences; the last of which was in September 2011 for possession of dangerous drugs, when you received a 4 month prison sentence suspended for 18 months.
At the time of the commission of the present offence, the period of suspension was still operational, putting you in breach of that suspended sentence.
In sentencing you, I take into account all of the matters which had been put before me on your behalf by way of mitigation by your learned counsel and I have read the letters of support that have been produced together with the testimonials, but it is your plea of guilty which affords you the only real mitigation and I will give you the appropriate discount in sentence to reflect your plea.
The case of SJ v Hii Siew Cheng [2008] HKCA 200 indicates that for trafficking in 300 to 600 grammes of ketamine, the proper starting point after trial falls between 9 to 12 years imprisonment.
In this case, the court is dealing with 580 grammes of narcotic. Accordingly I adopt a starting point of 11 years imprisonment. I will discount this sentence by one-third to take account of your plea of guilty, coming to 7 years and 4 months imprisonment.
As you committed this offence during the operational period of the suspended sentence imposed on you in September 2011, I activate the period of 4 months imprisonment, but due to the question of totality of the sentence, I order it to run concurrently to the term of 7 years 4 months, arriving at a sentence of 7 years 4 months imprisonment in all.