HKSAR v. Pau Tik Lun

HCCC 253/2015

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 253 OF 2015

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

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COURT: You confirmed your plea of guilty before the Eastern Magistrates’ Court on 19 June last for three offences in trafficking in dangerous drugs. The amounts involved being 5.9 grammes, 310.7 grammes and 207 grammes of ketamine. The total amount of ketamine is 523.6 grammes.

The facts which you admitted to are as follows.

At around 8.38 am on 1 February 2015, police intercepted a vehicle driven by you Yuen Long Highway near the Sha Ha Road, Yuen Long. This was in relation to suspected traffic offences.

You were alone in the vehicle. You were taken back to Yuen Long Police Station and a body search revealed a resealable plastic bag containing ketamine. This was in your jacket pocket, which is Charge 1.

Arrested and cautioned you admitted there was more ketamine in the vehicle. You were also at that time in possession of two mobile phones and $880.

You were then taken to the vehicle. A searched revealed two cloth bags between the front seats. These contained 25 plastic bags of ketamine. Also, a black plastic bag containing a plastic bag of ketamine was found in the pocket behind the driver’s seat. This is Charge 2.

Upon being reminded of the caution, you said the ketamine kept in one of the cloth bags was your reward, but the rest was to be delivered to others on “Ah Choi’s” instructions.

You were arrested for trafficking in dangerous drugs and admitted to delivering he dangerous drugs because you needed money.

On 2 February last at your home, that is Room 1501, Tip Ling House, Butterfly Estate, Tip King Road, Tuen Mun, was searched. This was searched in your presence. In a drawer belonging to you there was found 19 transparent plastic bags of ketamine, and in your container, which is in a box on the sofa, three transparent plastic bags of ketamine, a bundle of empty bags, electronic scales, a thermal sealer, a metal spoon, scissors and four measuring spoons were found.

Under caution you admitted ownership of all the ketamine seized from your home and said it had nothing to do with your mother.

Subsequent analysis confirmed the ketamine to be shown in the respective charges. In a video-recorded interview under caution you said, inter alia, that:

(1) sometime in late December 2014 to early January 2015 you bought around 500 grammes of ketamine from “Siu Ming” for $10,000 to sell;

(2) you mixed a white powder, which you purchased in the mainland, mixed it with the ketamine to increase the volume and, therefore, the profit;

(3) the vehicle was borrowed for personal use;

(4) at the material time you were to deliver about 400 grammes of ketamine to “Ming Chai” at Sheung Shui. It was to be sold to him for about $11,000 for 250 grammes;

(5) you said you are not a drug addict and you were unemployed at the time.

The value of the ketamine at that time, the street value, is approximately $84,492.

You are young man with hitherto clear record. You accept the contents of the antecedents statement. That tells me that you are now 20 years old - 19 at the time of the offence. You are educated up to Secondary level. At the time of the offence you were unemployed, previously having worked in a warehouse and as a transportation worker. You were in good health and not a drug addict nor a triad member. You are single and reside with your mother. To amplify that, I understand you also reside with your grandmother.

On your behalf, Mr Percy entered mitigation. You referred me first of all to a non-prejudicial statement which you have given to the police. That gives certain information, which I will not go into, but it is not related to the present offences. It is possible, and I can go no further than that, that it could be of some assistance to the police in the future.

Mr Percy then went on to refer to the facts of the case. It seems that you were stopped by the police because of tinted windows in the vehicle. Thereafter you were entirely cooperative with the police once the first ketamine was found, referring the police to various other stashes of ketamine both in the vehicle and in your home.

Mr Percy reminded me that at the time of the offence you were 19 years of age and of clear record.

A letter was produced prepared by your mother. I take the contents into account when sentencing you. The basis of that letter is that your mother feels that she neglected you due to the need to work to provide for the family, she having been divorced from your father when you were about 3 years of age. You left school at an early age, out of what you perceived to be an economic necessity in order to try to provide for the family, and you paid over something in the region of $3,000 a month to try to assist.

At the time of the present offence you were unemployed, and due to dubious friends of yours you entered into this scheme to purchase drugs and selling them on for profit. I am told that, initially, you first purchased drugs for about $10,000, cooked this with some white powder in order to double your profit.

Mr Percy then referred me to the sentencing guidelines and suggested this amount of drugs would attract a starting point in the region of about 11 years. I would not disagree with that approach.

I turn now to the actual sentences.

I have to remark that from the very outset you were cooperative with the police, that you anticipated what they would do throughout and led them to the various drugs. I take into account your youth, though that is of relative little importance. But I do take into account your hitherto clear record, and I note the difficult childhood you had. I also take into account that you have tried to cooperate and assist the authorities since your arrest.

Taking all these points into consideration, the following sentences will be imposed.

On Charge 1, I take as a starting point 3 years’ imprisonment, reduced to 2 years for your plea of guilty.

On Charge 2, I take as a starting point 9 years’ imprisonment, reduced to 6 years for your plea of guilty. Having regard to the overall quantity of dangerous drugs, as I have said, 5 years will be consecutive and 1 year will be concurrent.

On Charge 3, I take as a starting point 8 years’ imprisonment. That will be reduced to 5 years and 4 months, totally concurrent.

You will therefore go to prison for a total period of 7 years.