HKSAR v. CHIU WAI HOI, KISSON

DCCC1238/2010

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 1238 OF 2010

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.  Defendant, you have pleaded guilty to an offence of trafficking in dangerous drug, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance.

2.  You have admitted that on 17 August 2010, at Flat B, 5th Floor, Nos. 10-12 Wai Fung Street, Ap Lei Chau, in Hong Kong, you unlawfully trafficked in 16.48 grammes of a mixture containing 11.23 grammes of heroin hydrochloride and 0.29 gramme of a crystalline solid containing 0.29 gramme of methamphetamine hydrochloride.

3.  On 17 August 2010, at about 7.18 pm, police officers armed with a search warrant entered your flat which was the address in the said charge.  Those officers were on an anti‑dangerous-drugs operation. They conducted a search in your premises (your home), and the drugs were found inside a drawer under the bed in the bedroom.  One paper box contained four plastic bags of drugs.  Three of those bags contained heroin, and one of those bags contained “Ice.”  A plastic box was also found which contained an electric scale, a lighter, a pair of scissors, two pieces of paper cards and a pile of plastic slips in rectangular shape which is more particularly shown in the exhibit photograph P1, Photograph 16.  You admitted that you were trafficking in those drugs.

4.  Mr Li, your solicitor, has made very full and thorough mitigation on your behalf this morning.  I have taken into account all that he has had to say.  You are aged 53 and have 10 previous convictions, of which 8 are related to drugs.  Two of them are for trafficking in dangerous drugs, and the remainder are for possession of dangerous drugs. The offences for trafficking of dangerous drugs were committed by you in 1986 for which you were sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment and again in 1994 for which you were sentenced to 8 years’ imprisonment.

5.  I am informed that you are married with three children.  Two are very young children aged 8 and 17 months, a daughter and a son, and an elder daughter of 16 years of age.  You have been a part-time taxi driver since 2008, earning $6,000 a month. 

6.  Clearly, from your conviction record, I can see that you are a drug abuser and dependent.  I have received a letter from the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission, Ling Oi Centre, informing me that you in fact completed a year’s voluntary residential drug treatment at the centre between 2007 and 2008. 

7.  As Mr Li, your solicitor, rightly points out, for trafficking in dangerous drugs, there are tariffs laid down by the Court of Appeal, and for this particular type of drug, heroin, those tariffs are laid down in the case of R v Lau Tak Ming.  Although you have also pleaded to trafficking in a quantity of “Ice,” I will not take that quantity into account as it is a nominal quantity and will ignore them for the purposes of computing my sentence.

8.  I am sure you are well familiar, given your experience that you have had in court and your previous convictions, that trafficking is a very serious offence indeed and warrants an immediate custodial sentence.  I am sorry to hear that your wife has also landed herself into trouble and has been remanded, and your two young daughters have been taken care of by your sister‑in-law, and your son has been taken into foster care.  I hope you will have deep reflection on what you have done and how it will affect your children and, hopefully, after you have served this sentence, I hope that you will get all the help you can and turn anew so that you can be there for your children when they grow up.

9.  Defendant, in respect of the quantity of heroin you had for trafficking, that falls within the second bracket of Lau Tak Ming. That is between 10 and 50 grammes, of which a starting point of 5 to 8 years’ imprisonment is appropriate after trial. 

10.  You have trafficked in 11.23 grammes of heroin, and in those circumstances, I take a starting point of 5 years’ imprisonment. As Mr Li said, the strongest mitigating factor is of course your plea of guilty, and I give full credit for your plea and reduce that term by one-third. You are sentenced to 3 years and 4 months’ imprisonment.