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DCCC1328/2009
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 1328 OF 2009
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| Date: |
7 January 2010 at 12.05 pm |
| Present: |
Mr Ira Lui, PP of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR
Mr David Boyton, instructed by S Y Chu & Co., assigned by the Director of Legal Aid, for the Defendant |
| Offence: |
Trafficking in a dangerous drug (販運危險藥物) |
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Reasons for Sentence
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1. Defendant, you have pleaded guilty to a single charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Chapter 134, Laws of Hong Kong, the particulars being that you on 22 October of last year, outside Tsuen Wan Garden, Tsuen Kwai Street, Tsuen Wan unlawfully trafficked in 54.79 grammes of a powder containing 45.72 grammes of ketamine.
2. The Summary of Facts which you have agreed are simple. You were stopped and searched at the above location, and inside a cigarette box located in your trouser pocket, four separate packets of ketamine were found. You told the police that a person called Ah Sing gave you the drugs to sell to someone in Tsuen Wan for $3,200, and $500 would be your reward.
3. You are 23 years of age and have one previous criminal conviction for possession of dangerous drugs when you were placed on probation for a period of 18 months in June of 2008. By committing the present offence, you are in breach of that probation order.
4. I am told by way of mitigation that you committed the present offence due to financial pressure, but this counts for nothing and the only real mitigation is your plea of guilty which I will take into account when I sentence you.
5. The sentencing guidelines for trafficking in ketamine are contained in Secretary for Justice v Hii Siew Cheng [2008] HKCA 200, and for quantities between 10 to 50 grammes, the sentences range between 4 to 6 years’ imprisonment. The quantity of ketamine that was in your possession for trafficking is very close to the top end of that sentencing bracket. Accordingly, I adopt a starting point of 5 and a half years' imprisonment. I will discount this by one-third to take account of your plea of guilty, coming to 3 years 8 months' imprisonment.
6. As the probation order had only some two months to run at the time of the commission of this offence, I propose to take no action on the breach of probation.
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H H Judge Geiser |
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District Judge |
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