Read the full judgment text of CACC 000177/1997 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 26 May 1998 before Power, V.-P., Mortimer, V.-P. and Mayo, J.A..
Criminal law – dangerous drugs – trafficking in ecstasy (MDMA) – sentencing guidelines – comparison between Hong Kong and UK drugs legislation and guideline cases on heroin and ecstasy – UK guidelines should not be followed – properties of ecstasy considered – not addictive, low toxicity, but idiosyncratic effects including rare deaths – guidelines for sentencing for trafficking in ecstasy: Up to 25 grammes – entirely within the discretion of the sentencer; Over 25 to 400 grammes – two years to four years; 400 to 800 grammes – four years to eight years; Over 800 grammes – eight years and upwards – for very small quantities immediate custodial sentence for first offenders may not be necessary – for more than 800 grammes, arithmetic progression to be avoided – increase of sentence is justified for importation, manufacture or other aggravating circumstances – whether the judge was wrong in principle to adopt the heroin guidelines in R v Lau Tak-ming for an ecstasy offence – held, yes, because the UK Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 classification-based approach in Warren and Beeley and Arunguren is not appropriate to Hong Kong's unclassified Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Cap 134) – whether starting point of 20 years (reduced to 12) was manifestly excessive – held, yes – appellant was a courier importing 733 grammes of MDMA from the Netherlands for HK$30,000 – starting point 8 years (within 400-800g band with uplift for importation), one-third reduction for guilty plea, small further reduction for mitigation – appeal allowed, sentence substituted with 5 years imprisonment.
Legal issues: Whether the judge was wrong in principle to adopt the guidelines for heroin laid down in R v Lau Tak-ming when sentencing for trafficking in ecstasy · Whether the starting point of 20 years imprisonment (reduced to 12) was manifestly excessive
Outcome: Appeal allowed; sentence substituted.
Cited by 1 case