HKSAR v. CHRISTIANI WINSTON WESTLEY

HCCC 53/2025

[2025] HKCFI 3386

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 53 OF 2025

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Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case

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COURT: The defendant pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in dangerous drugs before a magistrate and was committed for sentence. The defendant is a citizen of the Republic of Guyana in South America. He arrived at Hong Kong International Airport via flight from Paris on 30 July 2023 but he was refused landing by the Hong Kong immigration officers. The defendant was then in a wheelchair, carrying with him a shoulder bag and a suitcase.

Custom officer found two books and rucksack inside the suitcase and after X-ray screening, a total of 1,955 grammes of a solid containing 1,399 grammes of cocaine were found concealed inside the inner covers of the books and the false compartment of the rucksack.

The defendant is 57 years old. He has a clear record in Hong Kong. He was educated up to Primary 4 level in Guyana. He was married and has four daughters and two sons.

In mitigation, Ms Vivien Chan, counsel for the defendant, submitted that the defendant used to run his own gold mining business and have considerable savings. However, in February 2015, he was robbed and stabbed on his back and as a result he had undergone an operation on his spine and spent six months in the hospital, which exhausted his savings. He lost control and senses in his lower right leg and has been wheelchair-bound since then. His wife left him and he had to be begging on the streets to support himself and his children.

One day, when he was begging on the street, a man approached him and offered him a job to carry the drugs to Hong Kong for a reward of 3 million Guyana dollars, equivalent to around US$15,000. According to the defendant, 1 million has been paid to him before he left Guyana and he had paid all the money to his daughter.

In considering the appropriate sentence for trafficking in cocaine, I made reference to the judgments of the Court of Appeal in HKSAR v Herry Jane Yusuph [2021] 1 HKLRD 290 and also the case of HKSAR v Huang Ruifang (No. 3) [2025] 2 HKLRD 138).

The quantity of cocaine involved in the present case is 1,399 grammes. Under Huang Ruifang, the starting point for trafficking in cocaine for 500 to 1,500 grammes should be in the range of 16 to 20 years’ imprisonment. As submitted by Ms Chan, the defendant is an international courier. Although international element itself is not a separate aggravating factor, the court will take this into account when considering the role played by the defendant in deciding the proper starting point within the tariff.

In the circumstances, I would adopt a starting point of 20 years’ imprisonment for the present offence. Taking into account the defendant’s guilty plea, the sentence should therefore be reduced to 13 years and 4 months. The defendant is of ill health and wheelchair-bound. He also participated in Father John’s campaign to fight drug trafficking. For these factors, I give a further reduction of 4 months in his sentence.

The defendant is sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment.