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HCCC391/2009
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 391 OF 2009
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Before:
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Deputy High Court Judge P Li
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Date:
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1 April 2010 at 10.31 am
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Present:
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Ms Jasmine Ching, SPP of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR
Mr Peter Ip, Counsel, of the Legal Aid Department, for the Accused
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Offence:
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Trafficking in a dangerous drug (販運危險藥物)
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Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case
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COURT: The defendant pleads guilty to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug involving 454.59 grammes of a mixture containing 320.98 grammes of heroin hydrochloride and 42.35 grammes of monoacetylmorphine hydrochloride.
At about 8 am on 31 July 2009, the defendant was intercepted by a Customs Officer while entering Hong Kong through the airport. Her luggage was searched but nothing suspicious was found. She was taken into a search room for a body search. Subsequently a Customs Officer found a packet of heroin and monoacetylmorphine hydrochloride contained in a condom dropping out from her vagina. The defendant was arrested. Later on the defendant was sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for medical examination. She subsequently excreted 20 pellets of heroin hydrochloride and monoacetylmorphine hydrochloride on the same day.
The defendant is 29 years old. She is a citizen of Uganda. She claims to have two children of whom she has lost contact. She has a clear record in Hong Kong. She used to be a small merchant but her shop was raided by bandits in 2007. Some of her family members were slaughtered. She lost most of her property and had to live on loans.
She was introduced to work in China in May 2009 but it turned out that she was forced to be a prostitute. She contracted an unknown inflammation of her genitals and had to stay in a hospital. She was helpless in China. On the advice of a friend, she went to Malaysia to renew her visa to go to China again. In Kuala Lumpur, another friend offered her US$3,000 for taking the drugs to China.
After her arrest she fully co-operated with the Customs’ investigation but the information given by her was considered of little value.
I notice that there was another drug, monoacetylmorphine hydrochloride present in the mixture. Monoacetylmorphine hydrochloride could be a result of incomplete acetylation or the subsequent partial hydrolysis of the heroin. Both heroin hydrochloride and monoacetylmorphine hydrochloride are salts of esters of morphine with similar potency. Given this information I would add the weight of the two drugs together for the purpose of sentencing.
The sentencing tariff in R v Lau Tak-ming reported in 1990, Volume 2, HKLR, page 370 is applicable. For the 363.33 grammes of heroin hydrochloride and monoacetylmorphine hydrochloride, in this case, the sentence should be 12 to 15 years’ imprisonment.
I have considered her mitigation and the letter submitted by the defendant today. The defendant went to Malaysia to renew her visa. She had every intention to return to China again despite the seemingly helplessness she encountered there. I do not find her mitigation credible. While her family was shattered during the raid in Uganda several years ago, this is no strong mitigation for committing such a serious crime.
I see no reason to be lenient. I bear in mind that there is also an international element in the present case as the heroin was taken from Kuala Lumpur to Hong Kong. The starting point is to be enhanced to reflect this aggravating factor.
Having considered the amount of heroine hydrochloride and monoacetylmorphine hydrochloride, and the mitigation put forward on her behalf, I take 14 years and six months as the starting point. I add 6 months to reflect the international element in this case.
The final starting point is 15 years. I deduct five years for her plea. There being no other reasons for further reduction, I sentence the defendant to 10 years’ imprisonment.
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