HKSAR v. YEKANI ZIMASA

HCCC 277/2016

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 277 OF 2016

-----------------

------------------

---------------------------------

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

---------------------------------

COURT: The defendant pleaded guilty to trafficking 144 grammes of cocaine in Eastern Magistrates’ Court on 10 June 2016.

On 20 December 2015, the defendant was intercepted by custom officers at the Arrival Hall of the Airport. There was suspicion of internal concealment. She was sent to North Lantau Hospital for medical examination. A packet of cocaine was found inside her vagina. As X-ray revealed foreign objects inside her body cavity, she was sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for further examination. She eventually discharged six more packets of cocaine at the Hospital.

Under caution, she admitted that she was asked to take the packets to Hong Kong for a reward of US$1,000. She did not know the nature of the substance.

According to Customs & Excise Department, the street value of the cocaine was about $377,000.

The defendant is now 36 years old, she is divorced. She has a daughter who is 10 years old. She received post-secondary education in South Africa. She has a clear record in Hong Kong, she was unemployed at the time of the offence.

Mr Arthur, counsel for the defendant submitted that the defendant was shattered after her divorce in 2012, she was depressed and destitute. She took dangerous drugs and incurred heavy debt. She hid her problems and did not seek assistance promptly. She was lured to take drugs to Hong Kong for a reward and for settling her debt with the syndicate. Mr Arthur stressed that she was not part of the syndicate. She was only a desperate courier. Mr Arthur urged this court to adopt a lower starting point.

The defendant’s sister wrote to this court pleading for leniency. Her sister confirmed that the defendant was a responsible person and the family was shocked about the offence. In his letter, Father John Wotherspoon informed this court that the defendant had actively participated in a programme to intensify publicity in Africa about the danger of trafficking dangerous drugs to Hong Kong through the Internet.

I have considered the sentencing authorities submitted by both parties, including HCCC 210/2014, CACC 324/2015, and CACC 381/2015. I am bound by the principles stressed by the Court of Appeal, albeit that I respect Father Wotherspoon’s effort and the defendant’s participation in the programme.

It is a matter of policy that the quantity of narcotic concerned is the single most important factor in assessing sentences for drug traffickers. The often distressing circumstances of those used to courier dangerous drugs cannot elicit the court’s sympathy and deflect it from applying a consistent policy. Trafficking in a dangerous drug offences are of utmost gravity, mitigating factors which could lead to a discount in less serious offences would have little weight in trafficking cases. (I am quoting from CACC 381/2015, paragraph 23 to 25)

The sentencing tariff in HKSAR v Lau Tak Ming is applicable for trafficking 144 grammes of cocaine, the starting point should be 10 and a half years’ imprisonment. I add 6 months for the international element. The final starting point should be 11 years. I deduct 3 years and 8 months for the defendant’s plea, I sentence the defendant to 7 years and 4 months’ imprisonment.

Given what the Court of Appeal has said, I do not think it is appropriate to give further reduction.