HKSAR v. Leung Ming Yiu

HCCC 207/2016

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 207 OF 2016

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

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COURT: The 48-year-old defendant entered pleas of guilty before me to a 1st count of trafficking in 153.8 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride, ‘Ice’, and to the 2nd count of possession of 1.65 grammes of ketamine and 3.17 grammes of herbal cannabis. The defendant had indicated his intention to so plead some two months prior to his pleas.

The facts of the offences are that on 18 August 2015, police arrived with a search warrant at the defendant’s premises in Mong Kok. In the sitting room, they found the drug ‘Ice’, the subject of the 1st count in two plastic bags of 104 grammes and 49.8 grammes of narcotic respectively. Those bags were contained in a larger plastic bag and in that larger bag were found also a further plastic bag containing the ketamine and a small box containing the herbal cannabis, both of which became the subject of the 2nd count.

It was accepted by the prosecution that that ketamine and cannabis found by the police were for the defendant’s own consumption. The defendant was arrested at the scene and as I say, has now been convicted on his pleas of guilty to both counts.

I will deal firstly with Count 1. Ms Wong submits that the great probability is that part of the ‘Ice’, the subject of the 1st count, was for the defendant’s self-consumption. Bearing in mind the contents of paragraph 6 of the Statement of Facts, that is the finding of amphetamine in the defendant’s urine after his arrest and the nature of the packing of the two separate bags of ‘Ice’, I agree. Accordingly, I will take a lower starting point of sentence than that I would otherwise have taken on Count 1.

Given the total quantity of the drug ‘Ice’ involved in Count 1, if all was intended for trafficking, an appropriate starting point of sentence would, as Ms Wong submitted, have been 12 years 6 months’ imprisonment. Given, however, that the 104 grammes of ‘Ice’ in the larger of the two bags and only an undeterminable but large part of the 49.8 grammes of ‘Ice’ in the smaller bag were possessed, as I find, for the purposes of trafficking, I take a starting point of sentence of 11 years 3 months’ imprisonment. That is a 10 per cent reduction from what would otherwise have been the starting point of sentence had all of the ‘Ice’ been possessed for trafficking.

In arriving at that discount of the starting point, I have taken into account the extremely high risk that the very large part of the drugs in the smaller bag would have, in any event, found its way into the broader community, particularly considering the defendant’s occupation as a night club manager.

The only mitigation of substance is the defendant’s plea of guilty. Because that plea was indicated to this court, through his counsel, some two months before today, I propose to allow the defendant the full discount for his pleas and accordingly, the starting point of sentence of 11 years 3 months’ imprisonment will be reduced to a sentence of 7 years 6 months.

So far as Count 2 is concerned, I take a starting point of sentence of 6 months’ imprisonment. In that regard, I bear in mind the more serious of the two drugs was ketamine but also take into account the relatively small quantities involved. That starting point is reduced to a sentence of 4 months’ imprisonment on the basis of the defendant’s pleas.

In my view, the relatively small quantity of narcotic justifies the imposition of wholly concurrent sentences. Accordingly, I order that the 4 months’ sentence imposed in respect of the 2nd count be served concurrently with the sentence of 7 years 6 months’ imprisonment imposed in respect of Count 1.

That is a totality of sentence of 7 years 6 months’ imprisonment.