HKSAR v. Wong Shing Bun

HCCC 36/2017

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 36 OF 2017

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

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COURT:

Mr Wong, you pleaded guilty on 6 February of this year before the Eastern Magistracy to one count of trafficking in 121 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride, contrary to sections 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap 134, and you are formally convicted on that plea.

The street value of what you had on you in June of 2016 was $41,820. Yet you were unemployed at the time.

At the time of your arrest that day, you had just left your home in Pak Tung House and you were found to have five packets of ‘Ice’ hidden within a carton of cosmetics which you were carrying inside a blue reusable carrier bag. Upon arrest and caution and under video-recorded interview, you said you were carrying those drugs for someone called “Ah Ming” for a reward of only $1,000.

Your antecedents statement, Mr Wong, shows that you are 49 years of age. You live alone and had been unemployed, you say, for a year prior to this offence, having previously been a logistics worker in the Kwai Chung Terminal. You did say that you were, and had been for some time, an abuser of drugs.

You have a long criminal record, dating back to 1985 when you were just 17 years old. You were continuously in trouble between 1985 and 2004 for matters which included possession of dangerous drugs but also theft and robbery, amongst other things. That came to an end in 2004 when you were sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment for trafficking in dangerous drugs and you were released for that matter in August 2012. But you were in trouble again last year for the same offence and for a matter of possession of dangerous drugs for which you received drug addiction treatment centre.

I am told you were on bail for that offence when you committed this one, and you wrote to the court in your mitigation letter that you were still abusing drugs, but counsel has submitted that you no longer suggest that some of the ‘Ice’ was for your self-consumption. That was a very wise course, Mr Wong, because I certainly did not accept that these drugs were for anything but for trafficking.

As I have mentioned to Mr Chan, who was doing his best on your behalf, HKSAR v Tang Man Fong, HCCC 483/2015, does not stand on all fours with this case. Mr Tang was a young man who was manipulated by a very much older man. He had been encouraged to take drugs in order to manipulate him and he had been taking drugs for a very limited period of time. His criminal record was incredibly limited; I think he had one very minor matter against him when he was much younger even than 17 and it was totally irrelevant to drugs. He gave every assistance to the police to the extent that the Commissioner himself wrote to the court on his behalf. He was not a seasoned and cynical criminal who played the system.

You are a seasoned criminal and your letter suggests you have learned a lot from previous appearances before the court as you have included every variation of mitigation possible, but with absolutely no evidence to support it. Mr Wong, you knew what you were doing, you knew the risk you were taking, and now, you must face the punishment.

The relevant sentencing guideline for the offence of trafficking in ‘Ice’ in September 2014 is HKSAR v Tam Yi Chun [2014] 3 HKLRD 691. For trafficking in between 70 and 300 grammes of ‘Ice’, the sentencing range is between 11 and 15 years, and for trafficking in 121 grammes of ‘Ice’, I consider an appropriate starting point after trial, in all the circumstances of this case, to be 12 years.

I have taken into consideration what could be said on your behalf and your background. But you know trafficking in dangerous drugs is a very serious offence. Deterrence is therefore an overwhelming consideration and in face of such a serious offence, there is nothing which has been said or could be said on your behalf which would warrant a more lenient course than would otherwise be the case. And indeed, Mr Wong, your criminal record is such that I have considered it is an aggravating factor, as well as the fact that this offence was committed on bail. But as this is already a heavy sentence, I will not enhance your sentence further. You are a very lucky man.

You will, of course, receive your one-third discount for your plea at the very earliest opportunity. That is very important. It is important that everybody takes a sensible course of action when they know they have committed an offence, which you did.

So you will go to prison for 8 years.