COURT: The defendant, Ng Kai-yui Clinton, was charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Chapter 134. And the defendant pleaded guilty before a magistrate and is committed to the Court of First Instance of the High Court for sentence.
Now, the Summary of Facts admitted by the defendant. On 21 December 2022, police officers mounted an anti-narcotics operation and laid ambush at the staircase near Flat D, 7th Floor, Tower 1B, One East Coast in Yau Tong, Kowloon. I will call that “the flat”.
The defendant was seen entering the flat and was stopped for inquiry. Upon body search, a key card to the flat, a resident smart card of One East Coast, two mobile phones and cash of $7,080 were found on him.
Upon search of the flat, the following dangerous drugs and related equipments were found. So, first of all, inside a white paper bag on the bookshelf of the study, there were two resealable plastic bags containing a total of 0.8 grammes of a solid containing 0.69 grammes of ketamine. That is the -- call it the first exhibit, E1.
Then a large pink plastic bag containing five items: the first one, a resealable plastic bag containing 35.2 grammes of a solid containing 28.4 grammes of ketamine (E2); second one, a resealable plastic bag containing 70 grammes of a solid containing 60.2 grammes of ketamine. That is E3. The third item is a resealable plastic bag containing 47.2 grammes of a solid containing 40.9 grammes of ketamine. That is E4. The fourth item is a resealable plastic bag containing 60.7 grammes of a solid containing 43.5 grammes of ketamine. That is E5. And lastly, a resealable plastic bag containing 15.7 grammes of a solid containing 12.1 grammes of ketamine (E6).
And there is a small pink plastic bag containing the following two items. One is a large resealable plastic bag containing 15 small resealable plastic bags containing a total of 10 grammes of a solid containing 8.57 grammes of ketamine. That is E7. And a large resealable plastic bag containing 10 small resealable plastic bags containing a total of 6.69 grammes of a solid containing 5.43 grammes of ketamine. That is E8.
And then inside a brown paper box on the bookshelf of the study, there were two items: a large resealable plastic bag containing five small resealable plastic bags containing a total of 1.5 grammes of a solid containing 1.37 grammes of cocaine. That is E9. And a large resealable plastic bag containing 32 small resealable plastic bags containing a total of 9.35 grammes of a solid containing 8.41 grammes of cocaine. That is E10.
And then on the first layer of the bookshelf of the study, there were two paper boxes, each containing a large number of resealable plastic bags. On the desk of the study, it was found an electronic scale, a heat sealer and a banknote-counting machine. Inside the wardrobe of the defendant’s bedroom, cash of 153,000 was found.
And the defendant was arrested. Under caution, he begged for a chance and stated that all the dangerous drugs were for his own consumption. At a subsequent video-recorded interview, the defendant refused to answer questions.
The narcotic contents of E1 to E10 were subsequently confirmed by the government chemist. The total drugs seized from the defendant were 246.29 grammes of a solid containing 199.79 grammes of ketamine and 10.85 grammes of a solid containing 9.78 grammes of cocaine.
The total estimated street value of the drugs is HK$126,229.
The defendant accepted and admitted that at all material times, he knowingly possessed all the dangerous drugs seized for the purpose of unlawful trafficking.
So those were the facts agreed or admitted by the defendant. Now, the background and mitigation.
The defendant was born in October 2000. So he is now aged 24. He is not a man with a clear record. He had two previous convictions, one for conspiracy to traffic in a dangerous drug, for which he was sentenced to 33 months’ imprisonment. The other was for assaulting a police officer, and he was sentenced to probation order for 12 months.
The defendant claimed to have been educated up to Form 2 and worked as a cook at the time of the arrest. Mr David Ma, counsel for the defendant, referred this court to the six-step approach laid down in the well-known case of HKSAR v Herry Jane Yusuph [2021] 1 HKLRD 290.
After referring to the relevant authorities for the trafficking of cocaine and ketamine applicable to the quantities involved and after providing this court with the result of the three tests - that is absurdity test, conversion test and ratio test - and submitting that the ratio test is the most appropriate here, and after acknowledging that there are aggravating factors here, firstly, two types of drugs were involved, and secondly, the defendant had a previous conviction of conspiracy to traffic in a dangerous drug, Mr Ma submitted that with the one-third discount for timely plea, the sentence is in the range of 5 years 6 months to 5 years 8 months.
My Consideration for Sentence
Trafficking in dangerous drugs is a serious offence. A person convicted of this offence on indictment is liable to be sentenced to life and a fine of $5 million. For the trafficking of 199.79 grammes of ketamine, the starting point is between 6 to 9 years. That is according to the case of Secretary for Justice v Hii Siew Cheng [2009] 1 HKLRD 1. For the trafficking of 9.78 grammes of cocaine, the starting point is between 2 to 5 years. That is according to the case HKSAR v Huang Ruifang [2025] 2 HKLRD 138.
I will now consider the appropriate sentence by incorporating the seven-step approach stated in HKSAR v Islam S M Majharul [2020] 3 HKLRD 146 and the six-step approach in Herry Jane Yusuph mentioned earlier.
So the first step: although the quantity of cocaine is much less than ketamine, it is the more potent drug. So I will use cocaine as the base.
Second step: the starting point for 9.78 grammes of cocaine is between 2 to 5 years.
The third step: on the evidence, the defendant played the role of storekeeper. After considering the result of the three tests, that is, first of all, the absurdity test, total quantity of drugs is 209.57 grammes, if all were cocaine, 12 years and 2 months; if all were ketamine, 7 years and 10 months. With the conversion test, converting ketamine to cocaine, 8 years and 2 months; converting cocaine to ketamine, 7 years 11 months. And the ratio test is 8.03 years. And having considered the result of the three tests as submitted, I am of the view that the starting point of 8 years is appropriate.
So the fourth step: as two types of drugs are involved, which is an aggravating factor, I will enhance the starting point by 3 months, so now become 8 years and 3 months.
And the fifth step: further, the defendant had a previous conviction of conspiracy to traffic dangerous drug. The starting point needs to be further enhanced. Having taken into account the fact that the defendant was aged 15 when he committed the previous offence, I will further enhance the starting point by another 3 months, so now bringing it to 8 years and 6 months.
The sixth step: the defendant tendered a timely plea and is entitled to the full one-third discount. I do not see any other ground for a further discount even though the defendant claimed that he had aged parents needing his assistance. With the one-third discount, the sentence is 5 years and 8 months.
And lastly, the seventh step, that is, finally, applying the totality principle, I am of the view that a sentence of 5 years and 8 months is not unfair or unjustly crushing or oppressive. So the actual sentence: for the offence of trafficking in dangerous drugs, the defendant is sentenced to 5 years and 8 months’ imprisonment.