HKSAR v. Wong Yin Kei, Tommy
Read the full judgment text of HCCC 49/2017 on BabelCite. This High Court CFI judgment was delivered on 13 April 2017.
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HCCC 49/2017 IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE CRIMINAL CASE NO 49 OF 2017 -----------------
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--------------------------------- Transcript of the Audio Recording --------------------------------- COURT: This case of trafficking occurred on 11 May 2016, and concerns 27 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 25.8 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride, more commonly referred to as ‘Ice’. The defendant is now aged 41 and pleaded guilty to this charge at the earliest opportunity in the Magistrates Court and accordingly will receive the full discount on his sentence to reflect his plea. The defendant was caught red-handed with the drugs in his pocket and he admitted straightaway that he had been asked to take the packet of ‘Ice’ to Mong Kok to give to others. He has in fact been entirely co-operative with the police. The value of these drugs was about $8,275 on the street. The defendant would be well aware of all of this because he has been an addict of ‘Ice’, it is said, for over 10 years. I think he accepts that ‘Ice’ has destroyed his life in many ways. This is his fourth conviction for trafficking and he had only been released by about 10 months from a sentence of 6 years and 8 months imposed in the High Court on 2 April 2012. Those previous offences aggravate the case here because this is a confirmed trafficker of dangerous drugs and I am afraid that in spite of the mitigation put forward by Ms Lo in the case, I feel that I should enhance the starting point by 6 months in this case. As Ms Lo correctly accepts, the normal starting point in this case would have been 8 years so I am going to take a starting point of 8½ years. I am giving you full credit for your plea of guilty. If you had been found guilty after a trial, your sentence would have been 8½ years. But as it is, your sentence will be 5 years and 8 months’ imprisonment. That represents the one-third reduction from 8½ years. Your counsel has said some very fine things on your behalf; whether you can live up to them is up to you, but I sincerely hope you can. |