HKSAR v. Wong Yeuk Dick, Joel

HCCC 92/2019

[2019] HKCFI 2842

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 92 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 pleaded guilty to one charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) and of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap 134.

The police approached a private car stopped in a traffic jam with the defendant and another person on board. Despite the showing of the warrant cards, they refused to get out and there was an attempt to drive away. It was only after the police officers hit the car window that they finally got off. The defendant put up a struggle and was seen to throw a black plastic bag onto the ground. It was found that the bag contained two bags of drugs.

The car was searched and another black plastic bag containing two bags of drugs were found. $46,760 cash was found inside the defendant’s handbag with another $9,000 found in a storage compartment of the car.

Upon arrest and caution, the defendant admitted that he was delivering the four bags of cocaine to someone and would earn $2,000 as a reward. The drugs were found to be 85.9 grammes of a solid containing 77.6 grammes of cocaine. Market value was $109,523.

The defendant is now aged 24. He has nine previous convictions involving 11 charges, none was drug related. His last conviction was in April 2015 for offences of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was sentenced to the training centre.

By way of mitigation, I was told that he was single, brought up by his mother who suffered from long-term illness and the whole family relied on social assistance until he and his brother got to work.

The defendant was in stable employment until two weeks before his arrest. And his commission of the present offence was because he wanted to make quick money but was arrested before he could receive what he was promised as a reward. Counsel told me that the defendant had learned a bitter lesson from this incident and had reflected deeply and promised to turn over a new leaf and asked for leniency from this court.

In sentencing the defendant, I have considered his guilty plea, mitigation forwarded by counsel on his behalf and the existing tariff for trafficking in cocaine. I have also perused the mitigation letters submitted.

According to the case of Lau Tak Ming, trafficking in cocaine between 50 to 200 grammes, a starting point of 8 to 12 years is to be adopted. For the amount of cocaine involved in the present case, I adopt a starting point of 105 months. He is entitled to the full one-third discount for his plea and he is sentenced to 5 years and 10 months’ imprisonment.