CRIMINAL CASE NO. 434 OF 2011
COURT: The defendant has pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, namely 69.36 grammes of a solid containing 45.89 grammes of cocaine.
The accused is aged 23 and has a clear record in Hong Kong. On 12 July 2011, he was seen in the vicinity of Chungking Mansion in the early hours of the morning. He was followed and subsequently intercepted and, upon his person, was found five pellet-like objects in a plastic bag concealed at the waist at the back of his jeans. These were the dangerous drugs which are the subject matter of the charge.
The estimated retail value of these drugs at the time was about HK$73,229.
The defendant is a national of Pakistan and came to Hong Kong as an illegal immigrant in about 2009. I am told he is at present a torture claimant awaiting a decision on his claim and he receives subsidies of about $2,000 a month. In mitigation, Mr Fenton submits that, under these circumstances, the temptation was great for him to commit this present offence.
That is no mitigation at all because many people in Hong Kong, with a right to be in Hong Kong, live on subsistence levels and they do not commit offences. The defendant chose to be here. He knew what the circumstances would be for coming to Hong Kong illegally. Hong Kong and Hong Kong people face an increasing problem with torture claimants who come to Hong Kong illegally, knowing that they cannot work and subsequently, because they are dissatisfied with the handouts they get from the Social Services, commit crime. This not only affects the reputation of the people of Pakistan, it also is disrespectful to the Hong Kong people who have offered him a refuge.
The only mitigating factor in this case is the fact that the defendant has pleaded guilty at an early stage and is therefore entitled to a one-third discount. Mr Fenton has said all he can say on behalf of the defendant in mitigation and I agree with him that according to the guidelines in Lau Tak Ming, the starting point for an amount in this case of 45.89 grammes of cocaine should be 7½ years’ imprisonment.
In view of the fact that the defendant has pleaded guilty, he is entitled to one-third off, so the defendant is sentenced to 5 years’ imprisonment.