HKSAR v. Chan Man Chun, Eric

HCCC 57/2018

[2018] HKCFI 2088

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 57 OF 2018

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

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COURT:

Chan Man-chun, I have taken into account everything said on your behalf. You stand convicted on your pleas of guilty, tendered at the Magistrates’ Court, to two offences of unlawful trafficking in dangerous drugs. You have been committed to this court for sentence.

Both offences were committed on 17 April 2017. The offence under the 1st charge was committed outside a street in Kwai Chung. The offence under the 2nd charge was committed in a hotel room in Kwai Chung. The dangerous drugs under the 1st charge were found by the police inside a bag carried by you. They consisted of 2,020 grammes of a solid containing 1,795 grammes of cocaine hydrochloride.

The police also found in your possession a key card which you said was the key card to a hotel room. With that key they gained entry into the hotel room where the dangerous drugs under the 2nd charge were found. Those dangerous drugs consisted of 99.01 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 95.02 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride and 12.07 grammes of a solid containing 10.44 grammes of cocaine.

In respect of the 1st charge, for the amount of drugs involved, I adopt a starting point of 23 years and 6 months’ imprisonment. In respect of the 2nd charge, more than one type of dangerous drugs are involved. If you were being sentenced only for the 95.02 grammes of ‘Ice’, I would consider a starting point of 12 years’ imprisonment appropriate. If you were being sentenced only for the 10.44 grammes of cocaine, I would consider a starting point of 5 years’ imprisonment appropriate.

Adding these two starting points together would result in an excessive sentence and I propose to adopt the approach set out in HKSAR v Wong Kin Kau [2010] 4 HKC 443. Performing the same exercise in respect of the ‘Ice’ and cocaine under this charge, I arrive at a starting point of 12 years’ imprisonment for all the drugs, ‘Ice’ and cocaine, in which you trafficked under this charge.

For your pleas of guilty at the Magistrates’ Court and your cooperation with the police, I give you a full one-third discount thereby reducing the sentence to one of 15 years and 8 months’ imprisonment under the 1st charge and 8 years’ imprisonment under the 2nd charge.

In all the circumstances and bearing in mind the principle of totality and the total amount of drugs involved in the two charges, I consider that the two sentences should run concurrently with each other. I therefore sentence you to 15 years and 8 months’ imprisonment under the 1st charge and 8 years’ imprisonment under the 2nd charge and I order that the two sentences to run concurrently with each other. You will therefore go to prison for a total of 15 years and 8 months.