HKSAR v. Wan Ka Lun

HCCC 14/2019

[2019] HKCFI 1496

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 14 OF 2019

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Transcript of the Audio Recording

of the Sentence in the above Case

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COURT:

The defendant has pleaded guilty to an offence of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance.

Defendant, you have admitted that on 3 July 2018, outside Ground Floor, Block 11, Pak Tin Estate, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon, you unlawfully trafficked in a dangerous drug, namely four plastic bags containing a total of 95.7 grammes of a solid containing 88.2 grammes of cocaine. This plea was entered before Eastern Magistracy on 7 January 2019 and you were committed to the Court of First Instance for sentence.

The facts of this case are straightforward. The defendant was stopped by police officers at about 8.30 pm on 3 July 2018. These police officers were on anti-narcotic duty outside Block 11. The defendant was holding a black plastic bag in his right hand when he was stopped by these two officers. He then became very emotional, tried to struggle and run away. The police officers warned him to stop but to no avail. Eventually he was subdued by both officers and handcuffed.

In the black plastic bag, the police found four bags of cocaine. They were later examined and confirmed to be 95.7 grammes of a solid containing 88.2 grammes of cocaine.

Under caution, the defendant admitted that it was his first time to deliver drugs on someone’s behalf and he would have been paid $500. The defendant actually lived in Block 11 and was taken home after his arrest. During a home search of the premises, the police found on a table in the living room a black plastic box containing several items. Those items were an electronic scale, four piles of resealable plastic bags, a pair of scissors, a spoon and pliers. These items are paraphernalia commonly identified with packing drugs and drug trafficking. The defendant was further cautioned and he told the police that the scale and the bags were only obtained that day and he had not used them.

It is admitted that the estimated street value for that amount of cocaine in July 2018 was approximately $118,204.

In mitigation, I have heard that the defendant is 30 years old. He has had no previous convictions. He was educated up to Form 5 level and was working in a public relations job. Today I have been told he lives with his mother and younger sister. His parents divorced when he was very young so his mother brought up him and his sister single-handedly.

To explain why he was trafficking cocaine, I have heard that he was engaged to a Korean girlfriend and due to marry not long after his arrest. In order to earn more money leading up to his marriage, the defendant took on a part-time job in a bar at night. It was here that he met undesirable peers who not only introduced him to cocaine but offered money to him to deliver cocaine. As the defendant has said himself in his mitigation letter, he could not resist the temptation of money. Sadly, it has come to the position he is in today and that is the defendant is no longer getting married and will now serve a term of imprisonment.

I have had two letters of mitigation. The first from the defendant, it expresses genuine remorse. He is sorry that he has disappointed his mother as well as his fiancée. In his letter, he assures the court that he will not commit any similar offences in the future. His mother’s letter obviously expresses her disappointment plus her distress. Obviously, he has been a filial son to his mother. She asks for leniency on his behalf. Ms Chan, counsel for the defendant, has said all she can say in mitigation. The defendant’s best mitigation is his plea of guilty.

Trafficking in dangerous drugs is a serious offence. On conviction on indictment, a person is liable to a fine of HK$5 million and to imprisonment for life. The sentencing guidelines for cocaine is found in the authority of R v Lau Tak Ming [1990] 2 HKLR 370. Although that authority involved heroin, the Court of Appeal has since ruled that those same guidelines apply to cocaine. In that authority, where between 50 and 200 grammes of narcotics is involved, a starting point of between 8 to 12 years would be appropriate. Mathematically speaking, 88.2 grammes of cocaine attract a starting point of 9 years’ imprisonment. After careful consideration of the facts, the tariff guidelines and mitigation put forward, I will take a starting point of 9 years’ imprisonment. The fact that the defendant has had a clear record carries little weight when the offence is of such a severe gravity.

Defendant, please stand up. The defendant is entitled to a discount of one-third for his plea at the earliest opportunity. After that discount is applied to the starting point of 9 years, the defendant is sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 6 years. Can I ask if you understand that sentence?

ACCUSED: I understand.