HKSAR v. Chu Chak Tak

HCCC 258/2018

[2019] HKCFI 1155

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 258 OF 2018

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

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COURT:

Background and the Facts

On 20 August 2018, the accused pleaded guilty in the Eastern Magistrates’ Court to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug. This morning, he confirmed his plea before me and accepted the prosecution’s Summary of Facts.

Briefly, on 27 December 2017, the accused was stopped by the customs officers in Sheung Shui as he was found to have acted furtively. When the officers revealed their identities, the accused attempted to flee but he was subdued.

A search was then conducted on the accused. As a result, the drug particularized in the charge, that is 5.02 kilogrammes of a solid containing 4.02 kilogrammes of cocaine, was found from inside the recycle bag the accused was carrying. At the time, the drug was all in the form of blocks and it was wrapped in five separate packets.

Under caution, the accused asked for a chance and he further said that he intended to bring the drug back to the flat in Sheung Shui.

The estimated value of the drug was about HK$5.4 million.

The Accused’s Background and Mitigation

The accused was born in Hong Kong and is now aged 19. At the time of arrest, the accused was unemployed. He was educated up to Form 3 level and after quitting school, he had worked as a casual worker.

Prior to the commission of the present offence, the accused had a clear record.

In mitigation, Miss Li told the court that the accused is truly remorseful. Further, Miss Li submitted that the accused committed the present offence out of stupidity as he would like to earn quick money to help relieving his family’s financial burden. It was said that the accused himself has a heart problem upon birth and that his parents separated when he was young.

Prior to his arrest, the accused lived with his mother and his twin brother. Unfortunately, his mother suffers from cancer and he therefore succumbed to the influence of his undesirable peers to take the drug in question in order to earn some quick money.

Letters written by the accused himself, his family members, his former social worker and the CSD chaplain all described the accused as a courteous, responsible young man of good nature. They all begged for a lenient sentence on the accused’s behalf.

The Sentence

The tariffs for trafficking in cocaine are the same as those for heroin, see AG v Rojas [1994] 1 HKC 342 and HKSAR v Abdallah [2009] 2 HKLRD 437. For trafficking between 4,000 and 15,000 grammes of cocaine, a term of 26 to 30 years’ imprisonment is called for. Having considered the facts of this case and the amount of the drug involved, I take the view that a starting point of 26 years is appropriate. The accused pleaded guilty at the committal stage. I would give him the full one-third reduction for his plea.

Given the serious nature of this offence, although the accused had a clear record and is relatively young, such do not constitute mitigating factors of any significance.

No doubt it is disheartening to sentence a young person to such a long term of imprisonment. But if the courts were to pass lenient sentences for young offenders involved in the drug trade, they would then be exposed for exploitation or manipulation by organized drug traffickers which in the end would harm both the young and the community.

26 years reduced by one-third is 17 years and 4 months’ imprisonment. I am, however, persuaded that the accused foolishly committed the present offence because of his love for his mother and his intention to improve his family’s financial situation. I would take this, together with the accused’s other relevant personal circumstances, into account and would reduce his sentence by 1 year and 4 months.

17 years and 4 months reduced by 1 year and 4 months is 16 years’ imprisonment, and this is the term I impose on the accused for the charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug to which he has pleaded guilty.