Read the full judgment text of CACC 000165/1994 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 15 March 1995 before Macdougall V-P, Penlington JA, Yam J.
Criminal law – sentencing – trafficking in dangerous drugs – discount for cooperation – supergrass – Lau Tak-ming tariff – consecutive sentences – Appeal against sentence – Applicant pleaded guilty to trafficking 38.53g heroin and related drug offences – Trial judge took starting point of 6 years, discounted to 4 years for plea and information – Applicant provided valuable information leading to seizure of 25.9kg heroin and convictions of five major traffickers – Court of Appeal held discount inadequate, applicant was a supergrass – Correct starting point 7 years – Sentences for offences on bail to run consecutively, total 9 years – 2/3 discount applied reducing sentence to 3 years – Appeal allowed.
Legal issues: Adequacy of sentencing discount for cooperation with authorities
Outcome: Appeal allowed; sentence on trafficking charge reduced from four years to three years.