HKSAR v. Li Wai Pan

HCCC 204/2017

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 204 OF 2017

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

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COURT:

Mr Li, on 26 June 2017, you pleaded guilty before the Eastern Magistracy to one count of trafficking in dangerous drugs, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap 134, and accepted that you arrived at the Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal on 1 October 2016 with 2,484 grammes of cocaine secreted within your small suitcase. The street value of the cocaine at that time was just over $3 million.

A Summary of Facts was read out to you, and you agreed that they formed the basis of your plea, and you stand formally convicted of the charge.

On arrest and caution, you denied knowledge of the content of the two packets found within your suitcase, and you maintained that someone else had asked you to bring it to Hong Kong for a reward of $15,000.

In the interview, you admitted that you had already received $8,000 as a reward, and that you had been given the drugs by a black man in Macau.

You are a Hong Kong resident and just 25 years of age. You are of clear record and I note that you had a good education, and were well-behaved at school, with a number of certificates of merit.

After leaving school, you were both a waiter and a security guard. Prior to your arrest, you had been employed as a kitchen worker and apprentice chef, earning about $9,000 to $10,000 a month.

You are single and lived with your mother, and have helped to contribute to your family’s expenses since you were 15 years old.

Ms Lai has previously told the court that despite what has happened to you, you still enjoyed the full support of your mother, and have had time to reflect on your crime, and your remorse is reflected in your efforts to assist Customs & Excise at the time of your arrest.

The guideline case for trafficking in between 1,200 and 4,000 grammes of cocaine is HKSAR v Abdallah [2009] 2 HKLRD 437, and the range of sentence is between 23 and 26 years. The appropriate starting point, therefore, after trial, is 24 years and 6 months. But there is also the aggravating feature that you have imported those drugs into Hong Kong from Macau, and in accordance with the Court of Appeal’s ruling in Abdallah, for amounts over 1 kilogramme, the enhancement should not be less than 2 years. This was 2.484 kilogrammes, so in all the circumstances of this case, I will enhance that sentence by 2 years to 26 years and 6 months.

Taking into account all that has been said on your behalf, and most importantly the efforts you made after arrest, I consider it appropriate to enhance the discount you are entitled to for your plea to just under 40 per cent, and you will go to prison, therefore, for 15 years and 11 months.