HKSAR v. TSANG CHI LING

HCCC 395/2019

[2021] HKCFI 764

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 395 OF 2019

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

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COURT: Defendant, on 25 November 2019 you pleaded guilty to, before a magistrate to two charges. The 1st charge was to trafficking in dangerous drugs whereby you admitted that on 20 December 2018 at the podium near Yan Tat House, On Tat Estate, Sau Mau Ping, you unlawfully trafficked in 80.6 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 80.6 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride.

You also pleaded guilty to a 2nd charge of possession of dangerous drug whereby you admitted that on the same date, at the same location but at Room 914 of Yan Tat House, you had in your possession 0.71 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 0.71 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride. Methamphetamine hydrochloride is commonly known as ‘Ice’.

On the date of this event at about 5.04 pm police officers intercepted you at the podium of Yan Tat House of On Tat Estate. You were found to be shaking oddly and used your hands to cover your lower private part area. You were escorted to your residence at Room 914 in Yan Tat House. The police gained entry to the premises with your keys. Since then you continued to be shaking oddly and sweating. The police officer conducted a full body search on you in the toilet. Upon search, the police officer found the drugs as mentioned in Charge 1 contained in four transparent resealable bags concealed inside your underpants.

You were arrested and under caution, you admitted you bought the dangerous drugs ‘Ice’ in Shek Wai Kok from a male for $20,000. The premises were searched and in the bedroom was found an inhaling device, that is a plastic bottle inserted with a plastic straw and a glass tube with the bulb-shaped end containing 29 millilitres of a liquid containing 0.28 grammes of methamphetamine.

There was also a transparent resealable bag containing the drugs as mentioned in Charge 2. There were two transparent resealable bags containing a large amount of transparent resealable plastic bags and an electronic scale.

You were arrested and cautioned, you claimed that the small bag of drugs ‘Ice’ was for your own-consumption and the inhaling device was used for you to consume ‘Ice’.

In a subsequent cautioned video-recorded interview, you stated that the ‘Ice’ found inside your underpants belonged to you and you intended to sell them to others. The unused plastic bags in your premises were to package the ‘Ice’ for sale. You accepted the electronic scale and the lighter also belonged to you. You also mentioned that you consume ‘Ice’ using the seized inhaling device and consume about half a gramme of ‘Ice’ each day.

You had said on 19 December 2018, you bought the dangerous drugs from a male called Ah Shing for $25,000 and they were the four seized packets of ‘Ice’ found inside your underpants.

In December 2018, the estimated value of the seized ‘Ice’ was about $36,264.

Defendant, your counsel Ms Cindy Lee has submitted written mitigation on your behalf and had also expanded upon it today before me. I have received letters from yourself, your 17-year-old son, your mother and two of the Christian workers who have seen you since you have been remanded in custody. I have take into account those letters.

You are now aged 48 and divorced and at that time you were arrested, you were living with your girlfriend. Your daughter now is about 1 year and 8 months old who you had with your girlfriend. Your mother is aged 75 and as stated in her letter has a few medical issues. I am informed that your girlfriend has since left you, however, your daughter whom you had never met because you have been remanded does spend some time with your mother and your mother has brought your daughter to see you.

At the time of the offence, you were unemployed and lived on Comprehensive Social Security Allowance. Your girlfriend, however, was all along doing business via the internet and she could finance you from time to time.

Defendant, you had 13 previous convictions. The last conviction being in 2014 whereby you were sentenced for an offence of Conspiracy to Rob and you served 5 years’ imprisonment. You have two related convictions for drugs, one for possession of dangerous drug whereby you were sentenced to DATC and two similar to the 2nd charge of charge of trafficking in dangerous drug which you were sentenced to imprisonment in 1997 to 6 years’ imprisonment.

I am informed by Ms Lee that upon your released from prison, you tried to get some casual drugs but when you found out your girlfriend was pregnant you felt financial and emotional pressure and eventually turned to ‘Ice’ consumption as you believed it could help solve your problems. In September 2018 you started to contact a person called Benny for ‘Ice’ and then you came to know Ah Shing who could supply drugs to you. You then decided to turn to drug trafficking, actually to earn some quick money.

I accept that your early plea of guilty shows that you are remorseful. Ms Lee has informed the court that you really have changed turned over a new leaf and that you have now a fond religion and in the letters provided by Ms Law from the Christian Tung Chung(?) Association and Mr Leung, it appears that they believe that you have changed and turned over a new leaf, only time will tell.

Defendant, your strongest mitigating factor is of course your plea of guilty.

You have been convicted of trafficking in dangerous drugs trafficking is indeed a very serious offence. You have unfortunately as Ms Lee said, spent much of your life in and out of prison. The drugs you were trafficking in Charge 1 is ‘Ice’.

The guidelines laid down for trafficking in the drug ‘Ice’ is that in Tam Yi Chun. You were trafficking 80.6 grammes of ‘Ice’ that falls in the bracket of 70 to 300 grammes where the Court of Appeal laid down as appropriate starting to be one of between 11 and 15 years. Given the amount that you were trafficking in had you been convicted after trial, I would have taken a starting point of 11 years’ imprisonment.

As I mentioned your strongest mitigating factor is your plea of guilty to which you should be awarded a one-third discount from the starting point. There are special circumstances on the papers before me which justify a lenient view for a further discount and I shall award you a 35 per cent discount.

In the circumstances, you should be sentenced to 7 years and 2 months’ imprisonment on Charge 1. I have not taken as an aggravating feature your two similar convictions for trafficking and have not enhanced the sentence because those convictions were a very long time ago in 1997.

In respect of Charge 2, had you been convicted, after trial, I would have taken a sentence of 12 months’ imprisonment giving you full credit for your plea of guilty that sentenced will be reduced to 8 months’ imprisonment and that term shall run concurrent to your term of 7 years and 2 months’ imprisonment.