HKSAR v. To Hoi-keung

HCCC 277/2018

[2019] HKCFI 1152

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 277 OF 2018

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

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COURT:

Leung Cheuk-yin, you pleaded guilty in the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts on 3 September 2018 to one count of trafficking in dangerous drugs, contrary to sections 4(1)(a) (and (3)?) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap 134 and that you accepted that you trafficked in a total of 511.18 grammes of ketamine and that plea has been confirmed today.

The facts of your offending have been reduced to a statement of facts which has been read out in court and to which you have agreed. You were found to be in possession of the ketamine within Room 50 on the 6th Floor of Kimberley Plaza in Tsim Sha Tsui on 24 October 2017. The drugs were found along with an electronic scale and a number of resealable plastic bags plus other items which could be seen within the photographs.

You were with another man at that time who has since absconded and you face punishment on your own for an offence you say you were recruited to commit by that other man.

The street value of the drugs at the time was approximately HK$450,000.

Upon arrest and caution you said you intended to sell the ketamine to make some money and that this was the first time you were doing this.

In court today, Mr Chu, on your behalf, says you hoped to make between HK$20,000 to HK$30,000 as a reward. That would have been a huge amount of money for a first-time dealer in drugs.

In your video-recorded interview, you said you had purchased the ketamine from a friend in Yuen Long for HK$60,000. You say that money was your savings from your previous employment as a Hong Kong-China long distance lorry driver. You had lost your job as a result of losing your licence because you accrued too many penalty points. Your licence was suspended, I am told, for six months.

It would have been wiser to use your savings to live the six months than to try and earn a quick profit in the trafficking of ketamine and that is going to cost you a significant number of years of your life.

You are now 32 years of age, single and were in fact unemployed at the time of your arrest. You have only one matter on your criminal record which is spent and was committed at the age of 19. You say you are a cocaine addict and I sincerely hope that is not the case, not if you drive for a living. If you are, then how did you save $60,000 for the ketamine?

These are serious matters. It has been said by the Court of Appeal on many occasions that there is little personal mitigation which can reduce the sentence which the court must ordinarily pass but there must still be room for mitigation. Whilst the court is always grateful for written submissions, all counsel must be aware that they are advocates first and foremost, and that written advocacy is rarely as effective as oral advocacy in criminal courts. Counsel is encouraged to persuade the court that their client is a human being in his own right, with circumstances particular to him or her which should be taken into account when sentence is passed. Unless counsel carries out that exercise on behalf of their client, the sentencing process becomes formulaic and does a disservice to the Common Law system and to the client.

For trafficking in ketamine the sentencing guidelines after trial is set out in Secretary for Justice v Hii Siew Cheng, [2009] 1 HKLRD 1. For between 300 grammes and 600 grammes, the starting point after trial is 9 to 12 years. For trafficking in 511.18 grammes of ketamine under Count 1, I adopt a starting point after trial of 11 years and 3 months.

You were full and frank upon your arrest and you have pleaded guilty at the very first opportunity and you have saved the court time and precious resources. You will be given the full one-third discount for your plea and you will go to prison for 7 years and 6 months.