COURT: The defendant has pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in dangerous drugs before a magistrate and is committed for sentence.
On 20 October 2017, the defendant was found inside a private car outside No. 51 Wai Ching Street in Yau Ma Tei. A search was conducted on the private car and a plastic bag containing four transparent resealable plastic bags of suspected dangerous drugs was found. The substance was later on confirmed to be 83.7 grammes of a solid containing 78.7 grammes of cocaine. Cash in the sum of HK$55,687 and RMB700 was also found on the defendant.
Under caution, the defendant said the drugs were to be shared in a party with friends. The defendant is 32 years old. He is married with a daughter of 5 years old who is now living in mainland China. According to defendant, his daughter is suffering from a heart disease.
Mr Yuen, counsel for the defendant, said the defendant’s mother is present in court today and she is suffering from diabetes and kidney disease. Mr Yuen submitted that the defendant had an earnings of 17,000 per month as a construction site worker before he was arrested. Mr Yuen urged this court to consider that the defendant has admitted to his guilt at the earliest opportunity. Mr Yuen also submitted that a substantial portion of the dangerous drugs were for the defendant’s own consumption. However, I am not prepared to accept this as it is the defendant’s own admission that the drugs were to be shared by friends in a party. He can hardly say that a substantial portion of the cocaine is to be consumed by the defendant himself.
Trafficking in dangerous drug is a very serious offence. A person committing this offence must face a heavy imprisonment sentence. The Court of Appeal has laid down tariffs for sentencing of offenders in trafficking in dangerous drugs and the length of sentence depends mainly on the kind and quantity of dangerous drugs involved. The heavier sentence imposed is for deterrence purpose. Usual mitigation factors like personal circumstances of the defendant is(are?) not valid mitigating factors.
For trafficking in cocaine, this court should consider the tariff laid down by the Court of Appeal in R v Lau Tak Ming and HKSAR v Abdallah Anwar Abbas. Under the tariff, trafficking in the quantity of 50 to 200 grammes of cocaine, the appropriate starting point should be in the range of 8 to 12 years’ imprisonment.
In the present case, the quantity involved is 78.7 grammes of cocaine. In my view, the appropriate starting point should be 8 years and 9 months’ imprisonment. Apart from the defendant’s early plea of guilty, I can see no other valid mitigating factors.
A full one-third discount is to be accorded with the defendant and the sentence is to be reduced to 5 years and 10 months’ imprisonment.