Mr Lam Shun-chiu, assigned by the Director of Legal Aid
HCCC 128/2011
HCCC128/2011
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 128 OF 2011
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Transcript of the Audio Recording of the Sentence in the above Case
COURT: The defendant has pleaded guilty before a magistrate to one court of trafficking in dangerous drugs, namely 547.91 grammes of heroin hydrochloride, 102 grammes of monoacetylmorphine heroin hydrochloride and 72.3 grammes of cocaine by pure narcotic content. He comes before me now for sentence.
The facts of the case are simple. The defendant was stopped by Customs Officers at the airport arrival hall after flying in from Bangkok. He was taken to the hospital where he later excreted the drug in question in 73 pellets. Under caution he admitted bringing the drug in from Bangkok for financial reward. The defendant is Zambian by nationality. He is aged 29, turning 30 in a week’s time. He has one previous conviction for common assault committed while in custody for the present offence. Otherwise very little is known or can be verified of his background. In mitigation, it is said that the defendant comes from a deprived background and that he was under tremendous financial pressure. That is why he succumbed to the lure of a so-called friend to commit the offence. For a total of 722.23 grammes of heroin and cocaine imported from abroad, the starting point should be one of 21 years. Given the guilty plea, the only real mitigating factor in this case, it will be reduced by one-third to 14 years. That is the sentence I pass on the defendant. You will go to prison for 14 years.
The facts of the case are simple. The defendant was stopped by Customs Officers at the airport arrival hall after flying in from Bangkok. He was taken to the hospital where he later excreted the drug in question in 73 pellets. Under caution he admitted bringing the drug in from Bangkok for financial reward.
The defendant is Zambian by nationality. He is aged 29, turning 30 in a week’s time. He has one previous conviction for common assault committed while in custody for the present offence. Otherwise very little is known or can be verified of his background. In mitigation, it is said that the defendant comes from a deprived background and that he was under tremendous financial pressure. That is why he succumbed to the lure of a so-called friend to commit the offence.
For a total of 722.23 grammes of heroin and cocaine imported from abroad, the starting point should be one of 21 years. Given the guilty plea, the only real mitigating factor in this case, it will be reduced by one-third to 14 years. That is the sentence I pass on the defendant. You will go to prison for 14 years.