|
DCCC 113/2022
[2022] HKDC 1251
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
CRIMINAL CASE NO 113 OF 2022
________________________
________________________
| Before: |
Deputy District Judge M Chow in Court |
| Present: |
Mr. Newman WONG, Counsel on fiat, for HKSAR/Director of Public Prosecution |
| |
Mr. Harrison CHEUNG, instructed by Messrs. Fu & Cheng, assigned by the Director of Legal Aid, for the defendant |
| Offence: |
Trafficking in dangerous drugs (販運危險藥物) |
________________________
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
________________________
Charges
1. The defendant pleaded guilty to one charge of trafficking of dangerous drugs, namely, 8.12 grammes of a mixture containing 6.72 grammes of heroin hydrochloride.
The Facts
2. At about 9:05 pm on 5 October 2021, the police intercepted the defendant outside Woo Shui House, Yuen Long. Upon a body search, the police found a total of 52 plastic straws packets containing a total of 8.12 grammes of a mixture containing 6.72 grammes of heroin (packed in various transparent resealable plastic bags) in defendant’s underpants.
3. There were also HK$114,630 and 3 mobile phones found from the defendant’s person.
4. Under caution, the defendant stated that some were for sale to friends and some were for self-consumption.
5. The market price of the seized dangerous drugs was about $10,612.84
Criminal Record
6. The defendant has a long list of 37 criminal records since 1994 and his last conviction record was in 2021.
7. Most of them are generally dishonesty offences of theft, robbery and burglary, etc. He has 3 convictions of trafficking dangerous drugs (in 2003, 2004 and 2018) and 7 occasions of possession of dangerous drugs.
Mitigation
8. The defendant is now 41 years old. He is divorced with no children. He previously worked as a transportation worker with a monthly wage of $20,000.
9. The defendant does not rely on self-consumption as mitigation.
Sentence
10. The sentencing guideline for trafficking heroin can be found in R v Lau Tak Ming [1990] HKLR 370.
11. In the present case, the narcotic content of the heroin was 6.72 grammes, it falls into the sentencing bracket of 2 to 5 years.
12. As such, the appropriate starting point is 4 years, given the 1/3 discount, it comes down to 32 months.
13. There is no other mitigating factor deserves further deduction, the defendant is sentenced to 2 years 8 months.
|
( M Chow ) |
|
Deputy District Judge |
|