HKSAR v. Lai Ka Chung, Calvin

HCCC 294/2019

[2020] HKCFI 136

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 294 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 2 September 2019, you pleaded guilty before a magistrate to a charge of trafficking in dangerous drugs.

You admitted that on 29 November 2018 outside the Ground Floor, King’s Centre on King’s Road, North Point, you trafficked in 13.3 grammes of crystalline solid containing 13.2 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride.

At around 3.45 pm on 29 November 2018, a police officer intercepted you at the Ground Floor of King’s Centre as he saw that you were acting suspiciously. A body search was conducted upon you and the drugs, as stated in the charge, was found inside the right pocket of the shorts worn by you.

The officer asked you what it was and you replied that your friend told you to give it to someone. You were arrested and cautioned and again, under caution, you told the officer that your friend told you to give the packet to someone.

In the video-recorded interviews taken subsequently after your arrest and the following day, you admitted that you collected the dangerous drugs to deliver to someone else. You had also been informed that $1,000 had been deposited into your bank account but you were to give $500 to another person. Your reward for delivering the drugs was $500. The estimated street value of the drugs was around $7,980.

Defendant, you are 19 years of age and are of clear record. You are not drug dependent. In fact, in the Summary of Facts, upon a urine test collected from you when you were admitted to custody on 1 December, it was tested negative to all drug substances, including ‘Ice’.

I have received a letter from yourself and your father, setting out the background and the reasons for you committing this offence. In brief, you had since a young age of some 3 years old, been living in a small group home as a result of the inability of your mother to take care of you. You returned to live with your parents at the age of 14.

Your father works as a manager at Mannings and has admitted that due to his neglect and leaving the responsibilities to your mother, that you were led astray. It appears that your mother has some severe addiction to gambling and has racked up huge debts.

Despite your young age and your education up to Form 4, you seem to understand the predicament that you are in. Your intentions are to set a new goal in life and resume your studies and so when you are released, you will be able to stand up on your own feet and contribute to society and also take care of your parents.

Ms Anna Ho has set out in her mitigation clearly that the greatest mitigating factor for you is, of course, your early plea of guilty. There are, I accept, no aggravating factors in this case and clearly, as you were trafficking in the drugs ‘Ice’, the Court of Appeal in Tam Yi Chun has laid down guidelines for this offence.

Defendant, you were trafficking in 13.2 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride which is commonly referred to as ‘Ice’. The guidelines, as laid down by Tam Yi Chun for sentencing after trial, between 10 and 70 grammes, is between 7 to 11 years’ imprisonment.

Had you been convicted after trial, defendant, I would have imposed a sentence of 7 years’ imprisonment. Giving you a full one-third discount for your plea of guilty, that sentence shall be reduced to one of 4 years and 8 months’ imprisonment, to which you shall serve so.