HKSAR v. Yau Chung Man

HCCC 282/2017

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 282 OF 2017

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

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COURT:

Yau Chung-man, it is always very sad, when an intelligent young man from a good family, such as you are, commits a criminal offence, particularly when that offence is trafficking in dangerous drugs.

You have admitted to assisting in the bringing into Hong Kong from Brazil of a mixture which weighed just over 1 and a half kilogrammes, which had in it an active content of just over 1 kilogramme of cocaine.

I am told, and you have agreed this that the street value of that cocaine was over $1,500,000. And you can only imagine the harm that cocaine would have caused, had it got out into the streets of Hong Kong.

Aggravating your offence is that this cocaine was imported into Hong Kong from Brazil in a UPS parcel, which means that the UPS company in Brazil must have been deceived into accepting this parcel for delivery to Hong Kong. It is well-recognised that when there is an international aspect to a drug trafficking offence, the offender’s prison sentence should be increased to reflect that fact, because the illegal importation of dangerous drugs into Hong Kong harms Hong Kong’s international reputation, and it shows a contempt by the smugglers for Hong Kong’s laws and way of life.

In your favour is the fact that I am prepared to treat you as a first time offender. Your sole previous conviction for theft was committed when you were a teenager, and is now spent.

Also in your favour is the fact that you assisted the Customs & Excise officers in trying to find the person you were to hand the cocaine over to, that attempt was, regrettably, unsuccessful.

And you have pleaded guilty to this offence, albeit very late in the day. But I note that the indication of your intention to plead guilty was communicated to the court officials before the first day set down for your trial, and you will receive recognition for this. It indicates realism on your part, it also indicates a degree of remorse on your part.

From what he told me this morning, I know that Mr Osmond Lam, your counsel, has told you that there are very firm guidelines set down by the Court of Appeal as to how all judges should sentence those people who traffic in dangerous drugs. They are based on the active content of the dangerous drugs, and in your case, that was just over 1 kilogramme.

I can tell you that had this matter proceeded to trial, and had you been found guilty by the jury, that following those guidelines, I would have had to in mind an initial starting point for your sentence of 22 years’ imprisonment. I would not have taken a higher figure because I regard you as being a person of previous good character, and I would have added to that 22 years a further two years to reflect the international aspects of this case.

With respect to the views expressed by certain of my brother judges, I don’t believe that a difference can be drawn between the drug smuggler who brings the dangerous drugs into Hong Kong himself, for example in his luggage, or concealed on, or even in, his body, and the smuggler such as yourself, who has obviously been party to an illegal agreement to misuse the services of a very reputable international air freight company. So on your conviction after trial, I would have sentenced you to 24 years’ imprisonment.

I am reducing that by 25 per cent to reflect your guilty plea, which would take your sentence down to one of 18 years, and I am giving you a further 18 months’ discount to reflect the assistance that you gave to the Customs officers in relation to the attempted controlled delivery of this cocaine, that represents a roughly 6 per cent reduction on the initial starting point.

So, Yau Chung-man, your sentence for your offence is one of 16 years and 6 months’ imprisonment.