HKSAR v. Wong Ho Yin

DCCC 497/2018

[2019] HKDC 280

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO 497 OF 2018

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REASONS FOR SENTENCE

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1.Defendant is convicted on his own plea and agreement to summary of facts to trafficking in a dangerous drug.

2.Defendant had a previous conviction but not similar.

3.He is aged 24 and has received education up to Form 3 level.  He is single and had worked in various jobs.  At time of arrest, he is a clerk in a finance company earning about $20,000 a month. 

4.It is said that he is a cocaine drug addict at the time of offence.  In the antecedent statement, he says he consumed daily 3 to 4 grammes of cocaine. The contents of this antecedent statement is agreed by him, but later when this court asked for the source of income for him to support this drug habit, he clarified that, in fact, his daily consumption is only 1 to 2 grammes.

5.The drugs in question is 22.50 grammes of cocaine, value of which is around $29,369.

6.For trafficking of cocaine, following the authority of Pedro Nel Rojas [1994] 2 HKCLR 69, and adopting the guidelines in the case of R v Lau Tak Ming [1990] 2 HKLR 370, the appropriate sentencing starting point is 5 years 11 months.

7.Defendant said himself that he is a drug addict, consuming cocaine and that he trafficked in cocaine to support his drug habit.

8.Although it is not a case where significant portion of the drugs seized is for defendant’s own consumption, I am willing to accept that some of these drugs is for his own consumption, and I therefore adjust the sentencing starting point to 69 months instead.

9.Having considered the mitigation advanced by defence counsel, the most useful mitigation is defendant’s own guilty plea, of which he is entitled to one-third sentencing discount.

10.Accordingly, defendant is sentenced to 46 months’ imprisonment for this offence.