COURT: Defendant, you pleaded guilty to a charge of trafficking in dangerous drugs before a magistrate sitting in the Eastern Magistracy on 24 October 2022.
The charge to which you admitted was that on 4 February 2021 at Mok Cheong Street, To Kwa Wan, Kowloon, you unlawfully trafficked in three kinds of drugs which are as follows: 27.23 grammes of crystalline solid containing 27.23 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride; 13.58 grammes of a solid containing 11.66 grammes of ketamine; and 27.9 grammes of a mixture containing 24.5 grammes of heroin hydrochloride.
The Summary of Facts to which you have admitted are correct and which support the charge are as follows. On the 4 February 2021 at about 7.20 pm, police officers mounted an anti-crime operation at Tai Lin Pai Road, Kwai Chung, New Territories. At around 7.38 pm on the same day, the police noticed a suspicious white private car driven by you along Tai Lin Pai Road. The officers then followed your vehicle. At about 9.18 pm, you were intercepted in your vehicle when you parked it near the meter number 8962B, Mok Cheong Street, To Kwa Wan, Kowloon City.
Upon search of the vehicle, a cross-shoulder bag was found on the right hand side of the back passenger seat floor, which contained the drugs as is stated in the charge. The drugs were separated into approximately 25 plastic bags containing the drugs.
In addition, cash in the sum of $38,100 was found inside the compartment between the driver seat and the front passenger seat of the vehicle. Upon search, you were found with one black iPhone containing two SIM cards and the car keys.
You were cautioned and arrested for trafficking in dangerous drugs and under caution, you admitted you were trafficking in dangerous drugs since you had been unable to find work due to the epidemic situation.
In the video-recorded interview, you named the person who recruited you to traffic dangerous drugs. You told the police that you were instructed to pick up the drugs that morning at 9 am from where someone had placed them among bushes at the Hung Hom Pier. You then received instructions over the phone to deliver the drugs to certain people whereby you sold two packets of drugs worth $500 and were then rewarded $100 for each sale.
You told the officers in the video-recorded interview that you became unemployed since November 2020 and you had some family problem, you had to make repayments of debts and as you were still in debt and did not live with your parents, you needed to pay accommodation for yourself, that’s why you wanted to earn money.
In February 2021, the estimated street value of the drugs was as follows: ketamine was about $8000-odd; heroin about $38,000; methamphetamine about $16,000-odd; and the total estimated street value of those three drugs was approximately $62,000.
Defendant, you are 31 years of age, born in Hong Kong. You have one previous conviction which was some time ago in 2010 of theft to which you were placed on probation. You have been educated up to Form 4 and entered the workforce shortly thereafter. Prior to November 2020 when you became unemployed, you worked as a logistics assistant supervisor earning $15,000 per month and you had this job for around four years.
You were brought up by your grandmother. Your parents are divorced, however, are here present in court and are supportive of you.
I am informed by your counsel, Ms Elizabeth Herbert, that the reason why you committed this offence is frankly because you struggled to make a living and you committed this offence, as you mentioned in your video-recorded interview, to earn money. Ms Herbert has set out very thoroughly and clearly the authorities on trafficking in these three drugs and the tests to be applied.
I accept, of course, Ms Herbert’s mitigation in that you had cooperated with the police at the very first instance when you were arrested and admitted you committed this offence. I am told by Ms Herbert that whilst you have been in prison waiting for your sentence, you have attempted to better yourself by applying for a short course on criminal law at the Chinese University, School of Continuing Education and Professional Studies.
Ms Herbert has submitted to me a letter from Father John Wotherspoon dated 26 January 2023. She has submitted that an additional discount to sentence may be appropriate on the basis that you have assisted Father Wotherspoon to tell your story to others. Attached to Father Wotherspoon’s letter is a certificate. I am told by Ms Herbert it is a certificate saying that you have attended the Grace International Seminary to which you had shared your story with others not to traffic in drugs. I take that into account in that you are sharing your story warning others not to traffic in drugs. However, I do not consider this to be any mitigating factor which warrants a discount.
Defendant, in sentencing you for these three types of drugs which are ‘Ice’, ketamine and heroin, the sentencing approach I shall take will be the combined approach and conversion of the drugs, ketamine and heroin, into the most serious drug, ‘Ice’. On the facts before me, I am satisfied that you were a courier of which you were taking these drugs to sell to others.
I turn first to the drug ‘Ice’. You were trafficking in 27.23 grammes of ‘Ice’. The sentencing guidelines for trafficking in ‘Ice’ are set out in HKSAR v Tam Yi Chun [2014] 3 HKLRD 691. For amounts of 10 to 70 grammes, the sentence is one of between 7 to 11 years’ imprisonment had you been convicted after trial. For this amount of ‘Ice’, had you been convicted after trial, you would have received a sentence of 8 years’ imprisonment.
In respect of the drug ketamine, the sentencing guidelines for trafficking in ketamine are set out in Secretary for Justice v Hii Siew Cheng [2008] 3 HKC 323. For amounts of between 10 to 50 grammes of ketamine, the sentence after trial is one of between 4 to 6 years’ imprisonment. For this amount of ketamine, had you been convicted after trial, that would attract a sentence of 4 years’ imprisonment. In converting this amount of ketamine to ‘Ice’, that would be approximately 3 grammes of ‘Ice’.
I now turn to the drug heroin. The sentencing guidelines for trafficking in heroin are set out in Lau Tak Ming [1990] 2 HKLR 370. For amounts between 10 to 50 grammes, the starting point is one between 5 to 8 years’ imprisonment after trial. Had you been convicted after trial for this amount of heroin, that would have attracted a sentence of 6 years’ imprisonment.
Converting that amount of heroin to ‘Ice’ would amount to approximately 8 grammes of ‘Ice’. Therefore in converting the ketamine and heroin to ‘Ice’ together would amount to 11 grammes of ‘Ice’. Adding that to the ‘Ice’ to which you were trafficking in, that is 27.23 grammes, that would make a total amount of ‘Ice’ to which you were trafficking in to 38.23 grammes of ‘Ice’. For that quantity of ‘Ice’, that still falls within the bracket of 10 to 70 grammes of which attracts a sentence of between 7 to 11 years’ imprisonment after trial.
Given that 38.23 grammes was the total amount of ‘Ice’ that you have been trafficking in for this offence, had you been convicted after trial I would have taken a sentence of 8 years and 9 months’ imprisonment.
The strongest mitigating factor is your early plea of guilty to which you will be awarded the full one-third discount from the starting point and therefore you shall be sentenced to a term of 5 years and 10 months’ imprisonment.