COURT: The defendant had pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, namely, 22.26 grammes of a solid containing 20.89 grammes of cocaine. He had also pleaded guilty to the 2nd count, which is conspiracy to traffic in a dangerous drug between 1 February 2022 and 28 February 2022, both dates inclusive, and he is alleged to have conspired together with a person known as ‘Chiu Goh’.
Now, the facts giving rise to the charges was that on 15 March 2022, police found the defendant inside the premises, facing a table, and on the table were the drugs which are the subject matter of the 1st charge. There were also electronic scales and a large amount of resealable plastic bags. There were two lighters, and other things.
Under caution, the defendant admitted that the drugs were given to him by a person called Chiu Goh.
In a subsequent video-recorded interview, he gave the police an account of how he came to meet this person Chiu Goh, and it was Chiu Goh who initially tempted him to traffic in dangerous drugs. And he said he did so on three occasions, including the time of the 1st charge.
On each occasion, he would pick up on the instructions of Chiu Goh an amount of cocaine and then repackage it, and then, according to instructions given to him, would distribute the smaller bags. And he would get paid $1,000 on each occasion.
The defendant was aged 18 at the time of the arrest and has a clear record. Mr Lo has submitted in his written submissions the background of the defendant, in that his parents divorced, and he grew up in the care of his grandparents. He studied up to Form 4 and was working as a chef apprentice in a French restaurant when the pandemic hit, and the restaurant had to close down in 2021. And because he was unable to find another job, he was thus tempted by this person, Chiu Goh to indulge in this illicit trade.
What is to the credit of the defendant is his early plea which is a good sign of his remorse. Also to his credit is the fact that he revealed the conspiracy to the police when he was being interviewed. And therefore he had indicated as early at the time of his arrest that he was remorseful.
Now, Mr Lo has said everything he could possibly say on behalf of the defendant. And I agree with Mr Lo that although there are two separate counts on the indictment, it can be viewed as a single conspiracy.
Mr Lo submitted that adding up the quantities that the defendant admitted to trafficking in on the three occasions when he did so at the instruction of Chiu Goh, the amount of cocaine would be in the region of about 62 grammes, and therefore, a starting point of about 8 years and 4 months. And therefore, after giving the defendant the full one-third discount, it would merit a sentence of about 5½ years’ imprisonment.
Now, I accept Mr Lo’s calculation as to the starting point. And I also, in view of the fact that on the 1st count, the amount of drugs would be a starting point of about 5 years and 8 months, giving a one-third discount, it would be about 3 years and 9 months.
I have considered also the fact that the defendant has a clear record. It was due to his honesty to the police that the police had the facts to support the conspiracy charge.
So, I will sentence the defendant in this way. On the 1st count, he is sentenced to 3 years and 9 months. On the 2nd count, he should be sentenced to 5½ years, but I would sentence him to 5 years because of the fact that it was due to his confession that supported the charge in the 2nd count. So it’s also a very good sign of his remorse. And I will make the sentence in the 2nd charge concurrent to the sentence in the 1st charge.
That means the defendant will go to prison for a total of 5 years.