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HCCC197/2009
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 197 OF 2009
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HKSAR |
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v. |
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Umayam, Encarnacion Ragudo |
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Before:
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Deputy High Court Judge Longley
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Date:
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23 November 2009 at 2.39 pm
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Present:
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Ms Cheung Kit-yee, Kathie, SPP, of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR
Mr David Rex Boyton, instructed by Yaddy Cheung & Co., for the Accused
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Offence:
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Trafficking in dangerous drugs (販運危險藥物)
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Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case
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COURT: Encarnacion Umayam, you have pleaded guilty to trafficking in 2,974.72 grammes of a mixture containing 1,491.78 grammes of heroin hydrochloride. That large quantity of heroin was found by Customs officers in a concealed compartment of the suitcase you brought with you to Hong Kong, on a flight from Manila, in the afternoon of 28 February this year.
The estimated retail value of those drugs in Hong Kong at the time was almost HK$1.5 million. Your counsel, Mr Boyton, has told me something about your background; the fact that you have not been in trouble in the Philippines before, that you are separated from your husband and that you have two children.
I am certainly prepared, for the purpose of sentence, to assume that you are not in any way the mastermind of this offence but were simply being used by others. It is a sad fact that many, if not most, of the people who are caught bringing drugs into Hong Kong are otherwise decent people who, because of personal or family circumstances, are vulnerable to the temptation to act as a courier because of the easy money that it offers.
Those who are more deeply involved in this evil business exploit this vulnerability and have as little regard for the fate of those they use to transport the drugs as they do for the lives and health of those who will ultimately consume the drug.
However, the fact that you have been used by others is a factor of limited significance when it comes to sentence. You would have been clearly aware of the nature of what you were doing and the very severe consequences that would follow if you were caught. You obviously decided to take that risk.
I am satisfied that the appropriate starting point in your case, bearing in mind the aggravating feature that you were bringing drugs into Hong Kong, is 24 years’ imprisonment. The only substantial mitigation in your case is your plea of guilty and, for that, you are entitled to the usual discount of one-third.
I accordingly pass a sentence of 16 years’ imprisonment.
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