HKSAR v. Man Wang Hin

HCCC 245/2015

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 245 OF 2015

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

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

You admitted on 1 November 2014, at Hing Cheung House, Tai Hing Estate, Tuen Mun, you unlawfully trafficked in 17.3 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 16.8 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride, otherwise, commonly known as ‘Ice’.

On that day, at about 18 minutes past midnight, police officers were patrolling the vicinity of Hing Cheung House in Tai Hing Estate. They saw you sitting on a bench. They then intercepted you and upon a search a piece of tissue wrapped in one plastic bag containing the drugs as stated in the charge was found inside the right-front pocket of your trousers.

You were arrested, and under caution you said “Ah Sir, I just resell the ‘Ice’ to others. I am out of a job and I plan to make some money”.

You admitted under a video-recorded interview that you were a consumer of ‘Ice’ for about a year. You bought drugs and resold them for a profit. You have been unemployed for approximately a year or two, and that the money of $123 found on you was the proceeds from selling drugs in the past. The amount of the drugs found upon you was half an ounce of which this was the amount requested by the customer.

The estimated retail value of the drugs was $6,937.

You are 23 years of age, born in Hong Kong, and have six previous convictions. All of them are theft-related. Your last conviction was in 2011 to which you were sentenced to Training Centre for the offence of going equipped for stealing.

Your counsel, Ms Crebbin, has mitigated fully and thoroughly on your behalf. She confirms the majority of what you said under caution when arrested. In brief, you became addicted to drugs because you were originally working three jobs and your friend introduced you to take ‘Ice’ so that you could continue working three jobs. As properly said by Ms Crebbin, this, however, was your road to ruin.

Over the weeks and months, your addition got worse and you were unable to afford your habit of taking drugs. Eventually, as a result of your drug consumption, you lost your employment, and as you were unemployed but were still dependent on drugs, you foolishly agreed to source drugs for friends. You would buy drugs and sell them for a small profit to your friends, and this is what I am told you did on this day you committed this offence. Once you collected the drugs from your dealer you were to meet your friend at Hing Cheung House where you would sell it to him and of which you would have made a profit of approximately $500.

I am informed that shortly before this offence you had married a lady in China and she is awaiting for her application to come to Hong Kong. Fortunately, she and her family are still standing by you and you have undertaken to change your ways whilst you are serving your term of imprisonment.

Defendant, your plea of guilty is your strongest mitigating factor. There are no aggravating features to enhance your sentence. You were trafficking in the drugs ‘Ice’. The leading case on the tariff sentence is that of HKSAR v Tam Yi Chun. The sentence guidelines for trafficking in ‘Ice’, to be imposed after trial of amounts between 10 and 70 grammes is one of 7 to 11 years’ imprisonment.

Had you been convicted after trial for this quantity of drugs at 16.8 grammes of ‘Ice’, a starting point of 7 years and 3 months’ imprisonment would have been appropriate. However, you have pleaded guilty and you should be given credit of the usual one-third discount. You shall therefore be sentenced to 4 years and 10 months’ imprisonment.