COURT: Defendant, you have pleaded guilty to a charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug before a magistrate on 20 December 2021. As a result of your plea of guilty, you are committed here to the Court of First Instance for sentence.
You admitted that on 9 February 2021 at the 7-Eleven convenience store at the Ground Floor of Siu Fung Building at No. 9 to 17 Tin Lok Lane, Wan Chai, you unlawfully trafficked in 63.7 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 63.4 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride, otherwise commonly known as ‘Ice’.
The Summary of Facts which you admitted before the magistrate in relation to this offence is as follows:
On the evening of 9 February 2021, police officers were conducting an anti-narcotics operation at Tin Lok Lane, Wan Chai. They noticed you and another male acting furtively inside the 7-Eleven store. At 8.44, they entered the 7-Eleven and upon search of you they found a plastic bag containing three resealable plastic bags containing the amount of drugs as stated in the charge. They were found in your left front trousers pocket. Under caution, you remained silent. Upon a further search at the police station, two mobile phones and $948.50 was found on you.
During an interview under caution, you informed the officers that you are an Indian national and entered Hong Kong via Mainland China.
The street value of the drugs was $37,583.
Defendant, you are an Indian national, you have a clear record in Hong Kong. However, you have an outstanding charge of illegal remaining in Hong Kong. You entered Hong Kong illegally in 2015. You are single and are a Form 8 holder, recognisance holder. You are educated up to Secondary 12 in India and you are now aged 28.
Mr David Khosa, your counsel has mitigated for you on your behalf. I have had submitted to me medical reports which state that since 2017 you have been attending a methadone clinic. I have also before me a report on a urine test taken at Lai Chi Kok since your remand after your arrest and it shows there that your urine was positive for amphetamine, cannabinoids, methadone and morphine.
Mr Khosa has informed the court that due to boredom and perhaps getting involved with some bad peers, you became addicted to drugs and also drug trafficking. The reason you trafficked in drugs, was because when you were delivering them to somebody, you would be given a small amount of the drugs for your own consumption.
Defendant, the drug involved in this case was ‘Ice’, the relevant authority and guidelines for trafficking in ‘Ice’ is that of Tam Yi Chun. You were trafficking in 63.4 grammes of ‘Ice’ which falls within the band of 10 to 70 grammes and a sentence after trial of between 7 to 11 years.
From the facts before me, I can see that you were just a courier. In those circumstances and given the quantity of drugs involved, I take a starting point of 10 years and 6 months’ imprisonment.
The aggravating factor in this case is the fact that you are a Form 8 holder and it stated clearly in the authorities of HKSAR v Singh Gursevak [2019] 2 HKLRD 274 and HKSAR v Butt Muhammad Gulzar [2020] 3 HKLRD 805, that as a Form 8 holder, this is an aggravating factor to commit this offence of trafficking dangerous drugs where you betray the trust and hospitality by causing harm to Hong Kong while awaiting the outcome of your immigration claim.
The courts in both the cases referred to the authority by the Court of Appeal, Shah Syed Arif, where Macrae JA stated the principles to apply in respect to a Form 8 holder. It was decided by the court there that for offences as serious as drug trafficking, defendants would not expect an enhancement for this factor to be less than 6 months’ imprisonment for a serious offence of trafficking in dangerous drugs.
For this aggravating factor, defendant, I will enhance your sentence by 12 months’ imprisonment which is a notional sentence starting point of 11 years and 6 months’ imprisonment. The strongest and greatest mitigating factor in your case is your plea of guilty at the earliest opportunity. I see no other mitigating factor in this case and you are therefore sentenced to 7 years and 6 months’ imprisonment.