HKSAR v. Lai Ho Fai

HCCC 159/2017

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 159 OF 2017

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

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COURT:

Defendant, you pleaded guilty before a magistrate at the Eastern Magistracy on 15 May 2017. You admitted that on 11 October 2016, at 3rd Floor, No 20 Pei Ho Street, Sham Shui Po, you unlawfully trafficked in 12.97 grammes of a mixture containing 7.43 grammes of heroin hydrochloride, 341.64 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 303.99 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride and 222 tablets containing 3.4 grammes of midazolam.

On the day in question, police mounted an anti-narcotics operation to observe that flat located on the 3rd floor of 20 Pei Ho Street. At 1853 hours that day, a male came out of that flat. The police at that time were armed with a search warrant, they then executed the search warrant. When they entered the flat, it was a sub-divided one consisting of eight caged bed spaces, nine rooms and a corridor.

At that time you were sitting in the corridor, the police officers then searched your waist bag and in your waist bag were contained some of the drugs as laid out in the charge. They were contained in numerous packets. Also found in there were keys. The keys were to the gate of the flat and to your caged bed space and also to a locker inside the flat.

Using one of the keys, they opened the locker inside the flat. Inside there were also found numerous other plastic bags of drugs which contained the remaining balance of the drugs in the charge. Also found in there were two electronic weighing scales each containing traces of a powder containing heroin and methamphetamine. Also found were a large amount of purple and red plastic wrapping tapes and these red and purple plastic wrapping tapes had been, some of them, or the same colours had been used to wrap up other plastic bags. There were also six packets, written ‘big’, ‘medium’ and ‘small’, containing a large amount of transparent resealable plastic bags.

The total amount of drugs found were as follows. In respect of ‘Ice’, in your waist bag was 4.2 grammes, in your locker was 299.7 grammes, making a total of 303.99 grammes. As regards heroin hydrochloride, 2.14 grammes found in your waist bag and in your locker was found 8.29 grammes, making a total of 10.43 grammes. In your waist bag was 0.18 grammes of midazolam and in the locker, 3.22 grammes, making a total of 3.4 grammes. The total of these three types of drugs are that as reflected in the charge.

The market value of the drugs seized was $139,696.47.

You are now 46 years of age and you have 37 previous convictions and most of them are mainly for the offence of theft involving dishonesty. You have one related possession of dangerous drugs in 1996 for which you were fined $750. Your occupation prior to your arrest was as a cleaning worker.

Ms Cannis Chan has stated very shortly that there is not much in mitigation she can advance on your behalf, save and except the fact that the strongest plea in mitigation is your early plea of guilty. I accept that is your strongest mitigating factor and there are no other mitigating factors.

I am informed that you have been a drug addict since the tender age of 16 and you did traffic in these drugs to sustain your dependency on drugs. Ms Chan has confirmed with this court that you are not putting forward the fact, or relying on the fact that these drugs, or most of these drugs, were for your own consumption.

The charge itself comprises of three different types of drugs. The most potent of the drugs is that of methamphetamine hydrochloride which is commonly known as ‘Ice’. The other drug is that of heroin. The midazolam concerned in this charge is of such a nominal and small amount that it pales into insignificance and I shall not take that into account when imposing sentence upon you.

In sentencing you, I take into account the combined approach of these two types of drugs. For the heroin of 10.43 grammes, had you been convicted after trial, a starting point would be one of about 5 years’ imprisonment, following Lau Tak Ming. The guideline case for trafficking in ‘Ice’ has been laid down in HKSAR v Tam Yi Chun. The guideline for trafficking in between 300 and 600 grammes of ‘Ice’ is one of between 15 to 20 years’ imprisonment. I take the conversion test and I would convert the heroin into ‘Ice’, and if I convert the heroin to the quantity of ‘Ice’, that would make approximately 5 grammes of ‘Ice’. If I then add 5 grammes to 303.99 grammes, that would make the equivalent of 308.99 grammes of ‘Ice’.

Defendant, in following Tam Yi Chun then, in sentencing you for that quantity of ‘Ice, the appropriate starting point, had you been convicted after trial, would be one of 15 years’ imprisonment.

Giving you full credit for your plea of guilty, that sentence should be reduced to one of 10 years’ imprisonment to which you shall so serve.