HKSAR v. Fong Ho Yin

HCCC 325/2019

[2020] HKCFI 742

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 325 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 in the Magistrates’ Court to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, namely 117 grammes of a solid containing 114 grammes of cocaine.

The facts reveal that on 15 August 2018, in the early hours of the morning at around 1.22 am, he was spotted driving a white private car moving slowly near a lamppost. The police constable, PW1, who spotted him must be congratulated on his diligence because he approached and intercepted the car and he then searched the car and inside the car, under the driver’s seat, was a McDonald’s paper bag containing the drugs which is the subject matter of the charge. Under caution, the defendant admitted that those were cocaine. The suspected dangerous drugs were subsequently examined and found to be the quantity which is now the subject matter of the charge.

The estimated street value of the dangerous drugs seized was around 140,000 to $152,000.

The defendant is aged 24 and has a clear record. In mitigation, Mr Lo has said everything he could possibly say on behalf of this defendant. Mr Lo submitted that he comes from a single-parent family and that he was a transportation worker for three years but had been laid off. He has demonstrated his remorse by his early plea of guilty and that since his custody he has developed an interest in water engineering and he is going to pursue that whilst he is in prison.

He expressed a desire to repay his mother for her love and for bringing him up and he asserts that the present offence was committed because he was unemployed and wanted to earn money. Well, I would consider that it is not because he was unemployed but because this was an easy way of earning quick money without having to put in the labour that is required. It is pure greed.

He also submitted two other letters, one from a lion-dancing organization and one from a Christian organization who testified to his hard work in these organizations. I am not particularly moved by these letters because when you weigh the evil that can be committed on society by this cocaine if it is distributed in our society, these pleas about his hard work in these organizations, it really pales into insignificance.

These drugs will cause a lot of tragedy in our society if dispersed because it can set family against family and may even cause a lot of heartaches for parents of children who indulge or is tempted to take drugs, and people like the defendant participate voluntarily in this dispersal of evil. This is recognized in our courts and the Court of Appeal has long ago laid down guidelines for trafficking in these drugs, and the guidelines which the sentencing of cocaine follows would be that in Lau Tak Ming’s case [1990] 2 HKLR 370 and where the Court of Appeal said that for trafficking in between 50 to 200 grammes, the sentence after trial should be between 8 to 12 years’ imprisonment.

I do accept that by his early plea, it is a demonstration of his remorse and so he is entitled to the full one-third discount and so he therefore is sentenced to -- the starting point would be 9½ years’ imprisonment. Giving him the full one-third discount, the sentence will be 6 years and 4 months.