HKSAR v. Suen Wai Hon

HCCC 189/2014

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 189 OF 2014

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

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COURT:

The defendant is charged with one count in trafficking in dangerous drugs. He pleaded guilty and admitted the Summary of Facts.

To put it simply, what transpired was on the date in question, when the defendant walked through the Customs in the Arrival Hall at the Lok Ma Chau Control Point, he was stopped by the Customs Officer. Upon a search on his person the officer found two packets of substance inside the defendant’s underpants. The defendant said under caution that he had purchased the “Ice” for his self-consumption.

After forensicexamination it was confirmed that the substance found was, indeed, “Ice” and the amount was 53‑odd grammes. The estimated value was about HK$30,000.

The defendant is now 56 years of age, he has 25 previous convictions with two similar trafficking offences and 40 other drug-related offences such as possession of drugs and possession of drug-taking equipment.

In his mitigation, counsel for the defendant, Mr Wong, pointed out that the defendant was a drug dependent as indicated by the number of convictions relating to drugs.

Mr Wong had given this court detailed information on the personal background of the defendant. All I can say is that the defendant’s life is really ruined by his drug addiction. Whether he wanted to continue this kind of life after he is discharged from prison, it is really a matter for him to decide.

Now, in view of the nature and the amount of drugs, I shall adopt 9 years as the starting point, however, I should make an upward adjustment by six months to reflect the factor of cross-border trafficking. So the actual starting point would be 9 years and six months. I shall give the one-third discount to the defendant to reflect his guilty plea. The sentence is, therefore, six years and four months.

I can see no other relevant mitigating factors to further reduce the sentence. So, the sentence is 6 years and four months.