HKSAR v. Cheung Yuk Pang

HCCC 216/2019

[2019] HKCFI 2883

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 216 OF 2019

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Transcript of the Audio Recording

of the Sentence in the above Case

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COURT:

Defendant, on 24 June 2019, you pleaded guilty before a magistrate at the Eastern Magistracy to an offence of trafficking in a dangerous drug. As a result of your plea of guilty, you were committed here to the Court of First Instance for sentence. You admitted on 11 August 2018 near Lamp Post V5046, Yin Kong Road, Sheung Shui, New Territories in Hong Kong, you unlawfully trafficked in 248 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 134 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride.

At around 10.08 pm on 11 August, a police officer saw you and thought you were acting suspiciously and intercepted you near the lamp post at Yin Kong Road, Sheung Shui. He conducted a search upon you. At that time, you were carrying a black cross-shoulder bag. The officer found in a lemon tea box a total of nine resealable plastic bags containing the drugs as stated in the charge. In addition, you were carrying cash of $480.

You were arrested and cautioned. You stated that the ‘Ice’ was for your self-consumption. In a video-recorded interview conducted the following day, you confirmed your verbal admission. You said that you were unemployed and you had been a heroin addict for some 10 years and your consumption rate was 0.21 grammes. The value of the drugs seized as at August 2018 was $131,936. Although, at the scene and in your video-recorded interview you claimed that the drugs were for your self-consumption, through your plea of guilty you have admitted that you possessed the drugs for the purposes of unlawful trafficking.

You are 46 years of age and you were born in Hong Kong, educated up to secondary 2. You are married and have a daughter aged three and an elderly mother, aged 80, who is disabled and suffering from dementia. Your father had passed away many years ago. You have 15 previous convictions of which seven are related to possession of dangerous drugs. You were last sentenced to DATC in 2012 and discharged in April 2013. Through your record, one can see that you have at least been a drug addict for some 20 years.

Mr Gibson Shaw your counsel informs me that a very, very small portion of one packet of drug was for your own consumption. Mr Shaw acknowledges that unless a very significant portion of the drugs is for your own consumption, then the court is unable to give any discount. I accept that you were drug dependent. At the time, Mr Shaw told me you were -- at the time of arrest you were unemployed. The value of the drugs in this case was significant in that there were approximately $130,000 worth of drugs and you were clearly funding your drug dependency by trafficking in these drugs.

I have been read a letter written by you in Chinese to this court saying that you are very remorseful and you hope to turn a new leaf and try your best to bring up your daughter when you are released from prison. Your strongest mitigating factor is your plea of guilty at the earliest opportunity.

The guideline case for trafficking in methamphetamine hydrochloride, which is otherwise known as ‘Ice’, is Tam Yi Chun. You were trafficking in a quantity of 134 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride. Had you been convicted after trial, the appropriate starting point would be one of 12 years’ imprisonment. Giving you full credit for your plea of guilty of one-third, that sentence shall be reduced to 8 years’ imprisonment to which you shall so serve.

Court rises - 9.58 am

29 October 2019