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DCCC827/2011
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 827 OF 2011
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HKSAR |
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v. |
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Tang Kwong-wah |
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| Before: |
H H Judge A. Wong |
| Date: |
12 October 2011 at 12.26 pm |
| Present: |
Mr Sharman Lam, PP of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR
Mr Chui Pak-ming, Norman, of Messrs Chui & Lau, assigned by the Director of Legal Aid, for the Defendant |
| Offence: |
(1) – (2) Trafficking in a dangerous drug (販運危險藥物) |
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Reasons for Sentence
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1. Defendant, you were convicted upon your guilty pleas of two charges of trafficking in a dangerous drug.
2. In sentencing I have taken into consideration the whole circumstances of the case, including its nature and facts, in particular the nature of quantity of the dangerous drug concerned, your background and mitigation put forward on your behalf.
3. The facts of the case you have admitted may be summarised as follows.
4. In the evening of 13 May 2011, you were stopped by police officers when you left your home and walked towards the staircase furtively at a quick pace. Upon search, the following items were found in the right pocket of the pair of shorts you were wearing: four plastic bags containing a total of 5.47 grammes of a powder containing 4.51 grammes of ketamine; and one folded banknote containing 0.66 grammes of a powder containing 0.54 grammes of ketamine.
5. Under caution, you admitted that you had bought the ketamine for resale to earn money.
6. You were then brought back to your home for a house search. There the following items were found:
(1) 10 plastic bags containing a total of 12.88 grammes of a solid containing 10.23 grammes of ketamine.
(2) One folded banknote containing 0.32 grammes of a powder containing 0.25 grammes of ketamine.
(3) Three plastic bags containing a total of 5.24 grammes of a solid containing 4.16 grammes of ketamine.
(4) 25 resealable plastic bags and an electronic scale.
7. Under caution, you admitted that the items found in your home belonged to you and were ketamine. When you were later interviewed under caution in the police station you admitted the following. You had purchased the ketamine seized from a man called “Fat Keung” at a price of $1,500 on the previous day. You agreed to sell ketamine to earn money. At the time of your arrest you were bringing the ketamine on your person to sell in Mongkok. The price you intended was $100 per plastic bag.
8. I was told that you are now 35 years of age. You received education up to Form 2 and then began to work. You had worked in a kitchen for about 10 years. In the year of 2000 you began to work as a transportation worker, earning about $10,000 a month. In 2011 you worked in another company and earned a daily wage of about $350. All along you contributed about half of your income to your family. You were living with your mother who is a housewife and your younger brother. Unfortunately you were injured on 24 March this year and had to rest. You then had to live on your savings and could no longer contribute financially to the family. You felt you had become a burden of the family. Your counsel stressed that it was only in these circumstances that you were lured to buy drugs for reselling.
9. I was told that your mother is suffering from heart disease and hypertension. I was also told that you are now remorseful. This I accept.
10. You are not a first time offender. Ten years ago, in 2001, you were convicted of two charges of trafficking in dangerous drugs and one charge of possession of Part 1 Poison. Since you were only sentenced to perform work under a Community Service Order and put on probation, I gather that the offences were not of a serious nature. In any case, I do not treat the record as an aggravating factor.
11. I was informed that you are a drug abuser. Since you will be sentenced to imprisonment for a substantial term, there are sufficient facilities in the institution to help you to get rid of the vice habit. I see no need to consider a DATC report.
12. According to the guidelines in SJ v Hii Siew Cheng [2009] 1 HKLRD 1, the tariff for a conviction after trial of trafficking in 1 to 10 grammes of ketamine is 2 to 4 years’ imprisonment, and in 10 to 50 grammes of ketamine, it is 4 to 6 years’ imprisonment.
13. In all the circumstances I do not consider there are in existence reasons not to follow the tariff suggested. Ketamine has been shown to be a prevalent drug in Hong Kong. The harm to individuals and the community as a whole is tremendous.
14. I bear in mind Silke V P has said in the case of R v Lau Tak Ming [1990] 2 HKLR 370, that within the suggested bands, factors which the court may take into account included: the profit which may reasonably be expected to be derived, the number of packets, the type of mixture containing the narcotic, the degree of involvement of the offender, his previous history of narcotic offences and matters of mitigation.
15. In all the circumstances, I adopt the following starting points:
Charge 1 - 2½ years;
Charge 2 - 4 years.
16. You pleaded guilty and are entitled to a one-third discount. Having considered the whole circumstances and mitigation put forward on your behalf, in my judgement this is the extent of discount you are entitled to.
17. I therefore sentence you to 20 months’ imprisonment for Charge 1 and 32 months’ imprisonment for Charge 2.
18. Having regard to totality, I order 13 months of Charge 2 to run consecutively to the sentence imposed on Charge 1, making a total sentence of 33 months.
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