HKSAR v. Cheung Ka Lun

HCCC 103/2017

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NOS 103 OF 2017

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

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COURT:

You have pleaded guilty before the magistrate at the Eastern Magistracy to a charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. Upon your plea of guilty, you have been committed to the Court of First Instance to be sentenced.

The trafficking offence was committed on 6 October 2016 at the Customs Arrival Hall of Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point. At about 10 pm that day, you imported into Hong Kong from China 993 grammes of a solid containing 754 grammes of cocaine. The drugs were carried by you in a recycled bag and concealed in a paper biscuit box.

You were arrested and cautioned, and you said immediately that the drugs were cocaine and you were promised a reward of $10,000.

In a subsequent video-recorded interview, you further detailed that you were instructed to go to the mainland to return with these drugs. You were to wait for further instructions when you arrived in Hong Kong for the handover of the drugs and thereafter to collect your reward.

You have said the reason for your commission of this offence was because you had a new-born son and had no money. The estimated retail value of these drugs was $1,038,678 at the time of seizure.

You are 38 years of age. You have attained Form 1 education. You have 14 previous convictions of which none are related to dangerous drugs. You have, on 30 December 2016, been sentenced to a term of 10 months’ imprisonment for possession of imitation firearms, possession of offensive weapon in a public place and possession of a false instrument. Your expected date of completion of this sentence is next Monday, 19 June.

You committed this present offence whilst on bail for those offences to which you were sentenced. Those offences were committed on 16 May 2016 and you committed this offence five months later.

You are a father of four children aged 11 months to 17 years of age; your two eldest children with your wife and the two younger children with different ladies, one your ex-girlfriend and one, your youngest, 11-month-old, with your present girlfriend.

Ms Vivian Wong, your counsel, has mitigated on your behalf and I have taken into account all that she has had to say.

At the time of commission of this offence, you were receiving CSSA. Ms Wong informs me that because it was your baby’s 100th day birthday, you decided to hold a banquet for him even though you could not afford it, and, as a result of that, you then committed this offence for quick fast money.

You fully realise that the offence you have committed is a very serious one and that you are ready to face the penalty. Your early plea of guilty before the magistrate on committal is testament to your genuine remorse.

Ms Wong has referred me to the guideline case of HKSAR v Abdallah for trafficking in these large amounts of cocaine. For the amount of 754 grammes, that would fall within the bracket of 600 to 1,200 grammes and the starting point after trial would be one of 20 to 23 years’ imprisonment. For the purposes of this amount of cocaine you were trafficking in, had you been convicted after trial, I would have taken a starting point of 20 years and 9 months’ imprisonment.

There is an aggravating factor calling for an enhancement of the starting point as there is an international element involved in that you imported these drugs from China to Hong Kong. For the enhancement relating to the international element, I would impose a further term of 18 months’ imprisonment. That would make a sentencing point of 22 years and 3 months’ imprisonment. You did commit this offence whilst on bail and this is a separate and distinct offence from that to which you were sentenced for possession of imitation firearms in December 2016.

In principle, there should be an enhancement as regards those two factors. You however have, and would have had, served most of your 10 months’ imprisonment by next week, and for the enhancement that would have applied because this offence being committed whilst on bail would be a small term, which, in view of the exceptionally high sentencing point, I do not propose to enhance the sentence. Therefore, the sentencing point will still remain at 22 years and 3 months’ imprisonment.

You have pleaded guilty and therefore the full one-third discount should be accorded to you. However, there are special circumstances on the papers which justify a more lenient view to be taken of the facts and therefore I shall grant you a 40 per cent discount. I therefore sentence you to 13 years and 4 months’ imprisonment. And just to be clear, this sentence is to run concurrent to the term of 10 months’ imprisonment imposed in TMCC 3219/2016.