HKSAR v. Tsang Hin Chung

DCCC 861/2016

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO 861 OF 2016

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.The defendant has pleaded guilty to one charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug.  The dangerous drug involved is 59.4 grammes of a powder containing 37.1 grammes of ketamine. 

2.The facts are that on 10 July this year, the defendant parked his vehicle at the taxi stand inside Cheung Hang Bus Terminus in Tsing Yi.   At about 4.30 pm police officers on anti-drug patrol in plain clothes saw the defendant.  The defendant stood outside next to his vehicle.  Experience obviously told the police officers that the defendant was nervous.  Their suspicions proved accurate when they approached the defendant. Eventually, they searched the defendant and found in his trouser pocket 14 bags of ketamine. 

3.Under caution, the defendant admitted that he was acting as a drug courier for $1,500.  No incriminating evidence was found in the defendant’s vehicle or at his home which supports his admission that he was delivering drugs only. 

4.In the video-recorded interview, the defendant under caution told the police that he had met somebody called Ah Kuen a month ago.  Clearly, this man has gone on to take advantage of the defendant.  He offered the defendant quick money.  He took the defendant’s telephone number but did not give the defendant his contact details.  And on the morning of the offence, he called the defendant and offered him $1,500 to deliver drugs from A to B.  It was at the delivery point that the police intercepted the defendant.

5.He also told the police that he worked at his father’s business as a clerk, earning $10,000 a month and that he also had a credit card debt of $16,000.

6.In mitigation, I have heard all that can be said on his behalf. 

7.The defendant has a previous conviction, but it is 10 years old when he was 16 years old and it is not at all related to dangerous drugs nor an offence of dishonesty. 

8.The defendant was 25 at the time of the offence but now 26 years old.  I have been told that he left school after Form 3 but has been employed since in the family business.  In fact, the defendant’s family and his fiancée are all here in court.

9.I have had four letters of mitigation from family and himself, and I take the contents into account.  In gist, they say the defendant has always been a filial grandson, son and a kind person.  In short, he acted out of character in committing this offence.  They all ask for leniency and show great support for the defendant.

10.Clearly, the defendant was naïve but greedy.  I believe he is, from his letter, truly remorseful and will not re-offend.  He has learned a bitter lesson.   He may not be the mastermind here and he may only be delivering drugs from A to B, but he is a vital cog in this wheel. 

11.Without couriers, drug traffickers cannot do business efficiently.  Guidelines apply for trafficking drugs.  The Court of Appeal has said in The Secretary for Justice v Hii Siew Cheng [2008] 3 HKC 323 that where between 10 to 50 grammes of ketamine is trafficked, a 4 to 6-year term of imprisonment is appropriate.   Mathematically speaking, here, 37.1 grammes should attract a starting point of about 5 years and 3 months. 

12.The Court of Appeal have laid down heavy tariffs for trafficking dangerous drugs to reflect what a social nuisance it is.  Drugs wreck lives and it is a poison to society. 

13.Defendant, please stand up.

14.I take into account your plea, obvious remorse, the fact it is your first drug conviction, your background, the genuine letters of mitigation and your realisation that you are paying a heavy price for your naivety and being persuaded to deliver drugs. 

15.I also take into account the guidelines set out by the Court of Appeal and the quantity of ketamine.  After careful consideration of the facts and mitigation, I find a starting point of 4 years and 6 months appropriate. 

16.You pleaded guilty, you are entitled to a discount of one-third for that plea.  After that discount is applied, for this offence, you are sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 3 years.  Do you understand that sentence?

DEFENDANT: Yes.