HKSAR v. Mmeka John Obi

HCCC 165/2019

[2019] HKCFI 2806

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 165 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, Mr Mmeka John Obi, pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug during the committal proceedings. The offence is contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Chapter 134.

The particulars of offence are that the defendant, on the 13th day of September 2018, at Customs Arrival Hall, Hong Kong International Airport, Chek Lap Kok, Lantau Island, in Hong Kong, unlawfully trafficked in a dangerous drug, namely, 1.01 kilogrammes of a solid containing 530 grammes of cocaine.

The defendant is committed to this court for sentencing.

Facts Admitted

On 13 September 2018, at about 1454 hours, the defendant was intercepted and searched by the Custom and Excise officers at the Hong Kong International Airport when he arrived Hong Kong from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Suspecting that the defendant had internal concealment of dangerous drug, the Customs and Excise officers escorted him to North Lantau Hospital for medical examination. It was confirmed that there were foreign objects inside the body cavity of the defendant.

On 14 September 2018, the defendant discharged 16 pellets from his body which were tested and found to be positive of cocaine. The defendant was arrested and he said under caution that the cocaine had been given to him by someone and he had not received any reward.

Including these 16 pellets, a total of 57 pellets were discharged from the body of the defendant on several occasions, and they were confirmed to be 1.01 kilogrammes of a solid containing 530 grammes of cocaine.

In a subsequent interview conducted under caution, the defendant admitted, inter alia, that as he needed money because of his health problems, he had brought the cocaine to Hong Kong for a person named Paul through the introduction of a friend, Mr Ben. He had never seen Paul.

On 5 September 2018, Paul sent a person to meet the defendant in a hotel in Nigeria where he swallowed the pellets after being taught how to do so by the person. Paul told the defendant to call him upon arrival in Hong Kong and he had no contact telephone number in Hong Kong. Paul promised to pay him in Hong Kong and he had not yet received the reward.

The street value of the cocaine seized is estimated to be $1,049,390 in September 2018.

Criminal Record

The defendant has a clear criminal record.

Mitigation

The defendant is a Nigerian national aged 58, married, with three children aged 17, 14 and 10 respectively. He also had a fourth child who had passed away. According to the counsel for the defendant, all the 3 children are students. The defendant did not only have to shoulder their school fees and living expenses but also had to shoulder the medical expenses of his wife who suffered from breast cancer and was in hospital dying.

The counsel for the defendant tells the court that in Nigeria, when one meets adversity, his life will become very difficult because no assistance will be offered by the country. The defendant committed the present offence under such a sad scenario.

The counsel for the defendant points out that he is aware of the sentencing tariffs as well as the international element involved in this case. He advances this as mitigation, not as an excuse for the defendant but as an explanation of why the defendant should have committed the offence. He points out that the defendant has a clear record both in Hong Kong and Nigeria, and he asks the court to take this and the guilty plea of the defendant into consideration in sentencing.

Sentence

According to R v Rojas [1994] 1 HKC 342, the sentencing tariffs for trafficking in cocaine are the same as those set down in R v Lau Tak Ming & Ors [1990] HKLR 370 for trafficking in heroin hydrochloride. For a quantity of 400 to 600 grammes of cocaine, the starting point is 15 to 20 years imprisonment.

The amount of cocaine involved in this case is 530 grammes and the starting point should be 18 years 3 months imprisonment. The defendant committed the offence because of economic reasons. The court has much sympathy for the difficulties the defendant was facing because of the illness of his wife but this cannot be used as an excuse to offend the law and cannot constitute a valid ground of mitigation. On the contrary, as already pointed out by the counsel for the defendant, there is an aggravating factor in this case in that the defendant took the dangerous drug into Hong Kong from Ethiopia.

Having considered authorities such as HKSAR v Chung Ping Kun, CACC 85/2014 and HKSAR v Leung Lok Yi, CACC 147/2016(346/2016?), the court is of the view that the starting point should be enhanced by 1 year, thus adopting 19 years 3 months imprisonment as the ultimate starting point. Giving credit to the defendant’s plea of guilty, the court sentences the defendant to 12 years 10 months imprisonment.