COURT: The defendant pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in dangerous drugs before a magistrate, and he is now committed for sentence. The relevant drugs involved is 334 grammes of a solid containing 118.33 grammes of cocaine.
In the evening on 16 November 2018, the police conducted an anti-narcotics operation at Mongkok. And at around 9.45 pm, police officers spotted a private vehicle, which later found out registered under the name of the defendant, parking at the roadside near No. 531 Shanghai Street, Mongkok. The police officers approached the car and found the defendant on the car together with a female. A search was conducted by police officers of the car and as a result, the relevant drugs were found inside the drawer in front of the front passenger seat of the car. Under caution at the scene, the defendant admitted that he helped someone to traffic the dangerous drugs.
And in a video-recorded interview later, the defendant further said that he helped his boss, whose name is “Ah Bo”, to traffic the drugs and he will be given $700 for delivery of each small packet of the drugs.
Now, the defendant is now 28 years old. He was educated up to Form 5 level. He was unemployed since 2012. He has two previous criminal conviction. One is similar to the present offence but that was committed in 2007 when the defendant was only 15 years old. He was sentenced to rehabilitation centre for that offence and the offence has been spent. The defendant is divorced. He has two children who are being taken care of by their grandmother.
Now, as submitted by Mr Boyton, counsel for the defendant, for the quantity of the drugs involved in the present offence, the starting point should be within the range of 8 to 12 years’ imprisonment. And as submitted by Mr Boyton, the starting point of 10 years’ imprisonment would be the appropriate starting point. Now, there is no valid mitigating factor apart from his guilty plea and some special circumstances as revealed on the papers. Taking into account these factors, the sentence of the defendant shall be reduced from 10 years to 5 years and 6 months’ imprisonment.