HKSAR v. Wong Chi Ming

HCCC 137/2016

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 137 OF 2016

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

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COURT:

You pleaded guilty today to one count of trafficking in dangerous drugs on 3 September 2015, in a mixture of dangerous drugs including 22.53 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride, 0.9 grammes of ketamine and 0.09 grammes of cocaine, contrary to sections 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap 134, and you are formally convicted upon that plea.

The Summary of Facts was read out to you and you have, through your counsel, confirmed that you were found with those drugs on 3 September 2015 when entering the Alhambra Building, No 383-389 Nathan Road, in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, when you were stopped by the police. A search revealed several small plastic bags contained within what looked like a spectacle box which you had with you, inside a black shoulder bag. On arrest and caution, you said that the drugs were for your own consumption and you declined to say anything else in interview.

The estimated retail value of those drugs you had on you on that day was $8,193.

Mr Wong, you are now 46 years of age, a mature man who has been in trouble several times. You have many matters on your criminal record, going back to 1997 when you were a teenager, and you have been in and out of custody between then and now. You have only two drug-related offences on your record although you say you are a drug addict, one in 2009 when you received 4 years’ imprisonment for trafficking and one in 2013 when you received 4 months’ imprisonment for possession of dangerous drugs, along with other unrelated matters. That is an aggravating feature of this case.

You say some part of what you had on you, Mr Kwan tells the court that was 6 grammes, was for self-consumption. But that is a bare assertion, save for the medical record which shows some traces of amphetamine within your system and what you said upon arrest and caution and in answer to questions for the preparation of the antecedents statement. The latter two items are somewhat self-serving.

You were given the opportunity to give evidence upon the issue without risk and you chose not to do so. Accordingly, I have no direct evidence to show that these particular drugs which you were carrying with you in public were for your own use, and I decline to take any part of them for that purpose.

That is because, without more, I assume, it being illegal, that you would not be in possession of dangerous drugs in a public place for your own consumption unless you had either just purchased the drugs or you were going somewhere to take them with friends, and you have not suggested that this was the case and I cannot see why you would have this mixture upon you, packaged as it was. You had three types of dangerous drugs found upon you, two of which were in a position to be sold on, and yet you say you are only a user of ‘Ice’.

The relevant sentencing guideline for the offence of trafficking in ‘Ice’ in September of 2014 is HKSAR v Tam Yi Chun [2014] 3 HKLRD 691. That is the sentencing guideline I am going to consider in this case because the amounts of ketamine were very small compared to the amount of ‘Ice’ you were carrying and I consider it appropriate in this case to add the weight of the cocaine and ketamine as a notional 1 gramme of ‘Ice’ to the quantity of ‘Ice’ you were found to have been in possession of, that is the 22.53 grammes plus 1 gramme which makes 23.53.

That is because in HKSAR v Hii Siew Cheng [2009] 1 HKLRD 1, for between 1 gramme and 10 grammes of ketamine, the sentencing starting point after trial is 2 to 4 years and while sentencing is within the discretion of the court under that amount, that does not suggest it should be disregarded and you could have been liable to up to 1 year and 9 months’ additional imprisonment, in my view. On the other hand, if I add both the ketamine and cocaine to the ‘Ice’, it makes only a marginal difference.

For trafficking in between 10 grammes to 70 grammes of ‘Ice’, the sentencing range is between 7 and 11 years. For trafficking in 23.53 grammes of ‘Ice’, I consider an appropriate starting point in all the circumstances of this case, including your previous record, to be 8 years.

You are entitled to a one-third discount for your guilty plea which means you will go to prison for 5 years and 4 months.