HKSAR v. SIU TSZ CHIN

DCCC422/2011

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.  The defendant, Siu Tsz-chin, pleaded guilty before me to two counts of offences. 1st charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug (11.92 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride), 2nd charge possession of apparatus fit and intended for the inhalation of a dangerous drug.

2.  On the day in question, the defendant was stopped by police in the street for ID card checks, as he had no ID card on him, he took the officers to his home to get it.  Inside his home the police officers found a glass bottle inserted with one straw and one glass tube connected to a glass bulb which contained liquid suspected to be dangerous drug.

3.  The defendant told the officer that the glass bottle was an “Ice” bottle which he used to consume “Ice”.  He was arrested for possession of apparatus fit and intended for the inhalation of a dangerous drug.

4.  Under caution, the defendant said he still had a packet of “Ice” in his room.  His admission led to the finding of a box which contained the drugs as particularised in the charge, together with a large numbers of empty transparent plastic bags and an electronic scale.

5.  He said under caution, he bought the packet of “Ice” for about $5,000 from an unknown male in Mongkok the day before and he intended to use the subject electronic scale and the transparent plastic bags to separate the “Ice” into different packets so that he could consume it together with his friends.

He further stated that he wanted to share the drugs with his friends just for fun.

6.  The defendant is a person of previous good character.  He is 21 and living with his parents, his parent’s friends and social worker are all in court to show support and concern for him.  Also handed up are 14 letters from the defendant himself, his relative, friends and members of the church.

7.  Counsel in mitigation put forward, when the defendant granted bail in April this year, there was a great change to him.  He had the incentive to turn over a new leaf and cut off his links with his dubious peers, attended church and became a Christian.   

8.  Counsel also submitted that, it was his co-operation with the police that led to the present offence.  The scale that was found in his home was used to weigh the drugs he bought, the court was told that, to make sure the defendant was not cheated by the drug trafficker.  And he also used it to separate the drug into different packets to share with friends.

9.  The court was told that he had the drug for his own-consumption.  He shared half of it with his friends not for money. 

10.  Trafficking is a very serious offence.  The Court of Appeal had said on many occasions, “The fact that a person who is a first offender even of young age does not carry much weight.”  For the amount of drugs he trafficked falls within the bracket between 10 grammes and 70 grammes, the sentence for consideration is 7 years to 10 years.

11.  Having heard all the mitigation, I don’t see any reasons not to follow the guidelines set down by the Higher Court.  Although I am doubtful about his claim that these drugs were for his own-consumption and he shared part of it with his friends.  On the evidence before the court I am prepared to accept that he had it partly for his own-consumption and partly for trafficking.

12.  For the firstoffence of trafficking I take 7 years as a starting point, that is the lower end of the range.  Taking into account part of the drugs he used for his own-consumption, I reduced that to 6 years and taking into account everything said in mitigation, I am prepared to reduce the 6 years by half.

13.  For Charge 1, he is sentenced to 3 years imprisonment.  For Charge 2, I take 12 months as a starting point, also reduced by half to one of 6 months imprisonment.  Both terms to run concurrently, the total term is one of 3 years.