HKSAR v. Choi Ka Chun
Read the full judgment text of HCCC 168/2013 on BabelCite. This High Court CFI judgment was delivered on 2 April 2014.
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HCCC 168/2013 IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE CRIMINAL CASE NO 168 OF 2013 -----------------
--------------------------------- Transcript of the Audio Recording --------------------------------- COURT: The defendant pleaded guilty on 1 April 2014 to one charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug, the dangerous drugs being cocaine. The quantity of drug involved was 96.97 grammes of a solid, containing 84.86 grammes of concaine. The defendant was arrested when he tried to leave Hong Kong on 30 November 2012. The search revealed four plastic bags of suspected dangerous drugs concealed in his underpants. Four mobile phone, cash of $2,900, and Renminbi 1,080 were also seized. After his arrest, the defendant said that he kept the drugs for his own consumption. Subsequent analysis by the Government Chemist confirmed the quantity of drugs as set in the particulars of the charge. The estimated market value of the concaine was about $113,648. The defendant has a previous record starting in 1994, five of those offences related to dangerous drugs, the most serious being conviction for trafficking in 2011. That case was dealt with in the District Court, and a two- year sentence was imposed. The defendant was released, I am advised, on 19 July 2012, and this instant offence was committed in late November. The defendant is now 36 years of age, he has other offences on his record. I am advised that he is remorseful, and that he committed this offence because he wanted quick money, he had been promised $8,000 to carry these drugs. He has family support, and also the support of his girlfriend. The family view is that despite his mistakes he is a filial son, and counsel urges on the court that he has shown positive improvement since his arrest. He has joined a religious group while he has been imprisoned, and he has enrolled in a distance learning course with the Chinese University in English grammar. Three reports put before me showed me that he made good progress in the subjects since his arrest. The only mitigation in this case is the defendant’s plea of guilty for which his is entitled to a full one-third discount. Pursuant to the case of the Attorney General v Pedro Nel Rojas in 1993, the Lau Tak Ming guidelines apply to cocaine. In the range of 50 to 200 grammes, the sentence suggested is 8 to 12 years. In this case, I take a 9 year starting point, give the full discount and impose a sentence of 6 years. | ||||||||||||||||||||||