COURT: Ms Leung, you had admitted to a charge of trafficking in dangerous drugs. The charge is you on 10 March 2021, outside No. 372A in Shanghai Street, unlawfully trafficked in dangerous drugs, namely, 80.6 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 80.6 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride and 9.68 grammes of a solid containing 7.93 grammes of ketamine.
The facts which you have admitted are quite straight forward in that you were found acting suspiciously outside No. 327A Shanghai Street by police. They approached you and upon search, mobile phone, some cash were found on your person. However, a large resealable plastic bag containing five smaller resealable plastic bags which contained a total of 68.9 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride and one large plastic bag containing 18 smaller resealable plastic bags which contained a total of 11.7 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride and 7.93 grammes of ketamine were found in the bag carried by you.
Upon arrest, you admitted under caution that you trafficked the drugs for remuneration because you had no work during the pandemic. Later on a video-recorded interview was taken of you in that you admitted you had a habit of consuming ketamine for approximately two years.
You trafficked ketamine, heroin and methamphetamine prior to your arrest. It was an unknown male whom you have met at MacPherson playground who would contact you with a ‘No Caller ID’ number and arrange you to meet up so that narcotics could be handed over to you for trafficking purposes.
You would receive around HK$1,000 as payment from the male and you claimed he would supply you with the customers’ numbers and then you would call the customers and arrange for delivery.
You acknowledged that drugs found in your bag were methamphetamine and ketamine, and in fact, when you were arrested you were on your way to deliver the drugs. Furthermore, you said that money found on you, part of it are the proceeds of the drug trafficking.
You told the police officer that for the ketamine it was $750 per packet whereas you forgot about the price of the other drugs.
Government chemist had confirmed the content of the drugs as stated in the charge. The market value for 68.9 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride was $38,000-odd and for the ketamine and methamphetamine hydrochloride found in the other bag it was $11,000-odd.
You are now age 30, born in Hong Kong. You attained education up to the tertiary level and you had a son, 6 years old. You have a clear record. It is a pity to see a single mother like you who had never run into trouble have to face such a serious charge.
It gives me no pleasure to sentence you to jail but this is a very serious offence and there are also aggravating factors in the offence that you had committed because it involved two types of drugs.
For the quantity of methamphetamine involved, we are looking at a term of imprisonment between 11 to 15 years and for the quantity of ketamine in the charge alone, we are looking at a term of imprisonment of 2 to 4 years. Of course of the two, the more serious type is the methamphetamine hydrochloride or commonly known as ‘Ice’.
I accept from the facts that I have read, you are in the category of a delivery worker or a courier. I will put you in the lowest end of culpability.
For the quantity of ‘Ice’ or methamphetamine hydrochloride, I pick an initial starting point of 11 years and 2 months. For 7.93 grammes of ketamine, I pick an initial starting point of 3 years and 7 months. Because of the aggravating factor, the 11 years and 2 months that I picked for ‘Ice’ has to be enhanced to reflect the aggravating factor. The question is by how much I should enhance the 11 years and 2 months.
Both the prosecution and your counsel had done some calculation according to the Court of Appeal in Chan Yuk Leong, Criminal Appeal No. 451/2012. I have checked against the calculation and it ranges, as said by your counsel, from 11 years and 4 months to 10 years 10 months. As I have said, the quantity of ‘Ice’ on its own will attract a sentence of 11 years and 2 months.
In the circumstances, doing the best I can in view of your background, your clear record and for the sake of your son, I only enhance by 1 month. So the ultimate starting point for this charge that I have adopted is one of 11 years and 3 months.
I have every sympathy for your background and also you hardworking throughout the years in struggling to have a better life. It had been said by the Court of Appeal in these sort of charges which concerned a substantial quantity of drugs, personal background would not earn you much credit.
The meaningful mitigation would be your timely plea. You have indicate your plea of guilty at the commitial stage, I will give you a full credit of one-third discount.
So the ultimate sentence I pass on you for this offence is one of 7½ years. I hope you can learn a bitter lesson and be a good mother when you are released.