HKSAR v. Sin Pak Shing, Martin

HCCC 411/2017

[2018] HKCFI 643

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 411 OF 2017

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Transcript of the Audio Recording

of the Sentence in the above Case

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COURT:

Defendant, on 6 November 2017, you pleaded guilty to a charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug before a magistrate sitting at the Eastern Magistracy. As a result of your plea of guilty you were committed here to the Court of First Instance for sentence.

You admitted that on 16 January 2017 at the entrance of Fairview Park, Golden Bamboo Road North, Yuen Long, you unlawfully trafficked in 649 grammes of a solid containing 469 grammes of cocaine.

On that day police officers were on an anti-dangerous drug operation in the vicinity of the basketball court at Fairview Park of Golden Bamboo Road North. At about 6.20 pm the same day, police officers saw you walking along Golden Bamboo Road North and on reaching the entrance of the park you picked up a paper bag next to a rubbish bin and walked away after looking into the paper bag.

The officers went to apprehend you, however, when you noticed them, you fled. While fleeing, you threw away the paper bag to the ground, which was then picked up by an officer. You continued to flee, however you tripped and fell on the ground and were hence apprehended by the police officers. Found inside the paper bag thrown away by you was a white plastic bag containing 32 plastic bags of the drugs as mentioned in the charge.

The estimated market price for the dangerous drugs seized was $589,292.

Defendant, you are 26 years of age and have received education up to Form 3. You have eight previous convictions, one is similar to trafficking in dangerous drugs, you were sentenced in 2010 to 32 months’ imprisonment. You also have one related to drugs, being for possession of dangerous drugs. I am informed that you have been addicted to drugs since you were 16 years old.

In a urine test report submitted by your counsel, Mr Alan So, taken at the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre when you were admitted into the centre on 17 January, it shows that you had a positive result for amphetamine and cocaine. Therefore, at the time of this offence you were still dependent on drugs. You are single, and you live in the New Territories.

I have received a letter written by yourself and your mother setting out your background and the reason why you have committed this offence. In short, your parents divorced when you were 7 years of age and you were taken care of by your grandmother. You were sent to a boarding school and despite your mother trying her very best to provide you with guidance, love and affection, that was insufficient and you dropped out from school in Form 3.

Once you did so, you mixed with undesirable peers and then became involved in your various offences. Your mother had said, quite unfortunately, it was difficult to juggle her work commitments to earn a living and to take care of you. Regrettably, she says that the district where you lived which is Yuen Long, in her own words, is a complicated district and therefore you mixed with bad company.

You have echoed a similar account to your mother and have admitted that you did, disappointingly, go astray as a result of mixing with undesirable people. I see that you did, after you were released from prison in 2010, set up a company which was a logistic company, and the revenue of the business was quite good. However, Mr So tells me that in doing this business, quite unfortunately, your father appropriated the cash flow and the business failed. During that time the company, you tell me, was in debt, in your letter, and from then on you had difficulty with your finances. Unfortunately, as a result thereof, you mixed with your undesirable peers again and committed this offence.

Since your arrest last year in January 2017, your grandmother who brought you up has passed away and you are saddened by the fact that you were unable to say your last goodbyes. In your letter, you have said that you have reflected on your past wrongdoings and you will now pursue an education and show your mother your determination to turn over a new leaf. I sincerely hope that you will do so, as you are still a young man.

As Mr So says, this offence is a very serious offence indeed, and there are guidelines set down by the Court of Appeal for the offence of trafficking in the drug cocaine. The leading case is that of Lau Tak Ming. You were trafficking in 469 grammes of cocaine.

Defendant, the guidelines set down are that between 400 and 600 grammes of cocaine, if you had been convicted after trial, an appropriate sentence would be one of between 15 to 20 years’ imprisonment. Given the quantity of cocaine that you were trafficking in, and had you been convicted after trial, the appropriate starting point would be one of 16 years and 6 months’ imprisonment.

You have pleaded guilty at the first opportunity, you are therefore entitled to the full one-third discount. In the circumstances, you shall be sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment. Despite you having a similar conviction for trafficking in dangerous drugs, I shall not consider that an aggravating factor calling for the enhancement of the starting point, as that offence was committed now some 7 years ago.