HKSAR v. Lau Pan

HCCC 419/2015

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 419 of 2015

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

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COURT: Stand up please, defendant. The defendant pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug. On 27 March 2015, at around 11.17 pm the defendant was found, together with another male, by plain clothes police officers at the staircase at the 25th floor of Tower One, Wing Fai Centre, Luen Chit Street, Fanling. The defendant and the other male tried to get away from the police officers but they were subsequently subdued by other police officers of the same team.

A resealable plastic bag was found protruding from the right front pocket of the defendant’s jacket. Upon further search another resealable plastic bag containing white powder was found on the defendant. It was later certified by government chemist that the first bag contains 246 grammes of a mixture containing 153 grammes of ketamine, and the second bag contains 12.4 grammes of a mixture containing 8.83 grammes of ketamine.

Under caution the defendant said he was paid by someone to courier the drugs to the 25th floor. The estimated retail value of the ketamine involved was just over HK$30,000.

The defendant is 25 years old, he received education up to Form 3 level. He was a construction worker earning 12,000 per month. He is single and according to his counsel Mr Wong, he needs to take care of his elderly mother. The defendant has four previous criminal records but none of which is similar to the present offence. He was sentenced to the DATC once in 2010 and twice in 2013. It is obvious that he is a drug addict.

In his mitigation for the defendant Mr Wong asked me to consider giving the defendant a discount on sentence as part of the drugs found on him was for his own consumption. After hearing indication from this court, on behalf of the defendant, Mr Wong accepted that a quantity equals to the quantity contained in the second bag found on the defendant was for his own consumption.

Trafficking in dangerous drugs is a very serious offence and the Court of Appeal has laid down sentencing guideline in respect of it. In the case Secretary for Justice v Hii Siew Cheng [2009] 1 HKLRD, for trafficking in a quantity of 50 to 300 grammes of ketamine the starting point for sentence should be in the range of 6 to 9 years’ imprisonment. Taking into account the fact that part of the drugs was for the defendant’s own consumption, in my view, the appropriate starting point for the present case should be 7 and a half years’ imprisonment.

In reaching this starting point while I have given discount out of the total quantity for this factor, I also have regard to the fact that possession alone is an offence and also attracts an appropriate term of imprisonment. In the present case, apart from the defendant’s guilty plea there is no other mitigating factors. Giving the usual one third discount for the guilty plea, the sentence is reduced to 5 years’ imprisonment.