COURT: Defendant, on 27 July 2023, you pleaded guilty to one charge of trafficking in dangerous drugs before a magistrate sitting at the Eastern Magistracy. As a result of your plea of guilty, you have been committed here to the Court of First Instance for sentence. You admitted that on the 13th day of September 2022, outside Heng Cheuk House, Tin Heng Estate, Tin Shui Wai, Yuen Long, you unlawfully trafficked in 82.9 grammes of a solid containing 65.08 grammes of cocaine.
On 13 September 2022, plainclothes police officers mounted an anti-narcotics operation at Heng Cheuk House. At about 9.56 pm, they saw you walk out from the rear exit of Heng Cheuk House. The officers then approached and intercepted you, revealing their police identities. You immediately wanted to get away and put up some resistance. You were however subdued and handcuffed.
About two minutes after that, a police officer searched your person and found in your left front shorts pocket five resealable plastic bags containing the quantity of drugs contained, mentioned in the charge. Also found on your person were two mobile phones and cash of $1,830 and an Octopus card.
You were immediately arrested and cautioned and under caution, you admitted that the “Coke” found on your person was dangerous drugs which you were helping other persons to deliver in return for money.
Subsequently you were taken to a home search in Heng Cheuk House and many empty resealable plastic bags were found. In a subsequent video-recorded interview, you informed the police that about a month ago, you were asked by someone in a pub whether you wished to earn quick money. As you were unemployed at the time, you gave your number to that person. You then agreed with your boss, a person who called you, to deliver cocaine and for each delivery, you would be paid $250.
For the cocaine found on your person in your pocket that day, you had just picked up the five bags in Tai Po. You were leaving Heng Cheuk House about to deliver those five bags of cocaine to other people before you were intercepted. Although you had made a few deliveries of dangerous drugs previously, you had not received any reward so far.
In September 2022, the estimated street value of all the cocaine seized, if in powder form, was $71,294, and if in crack form, $121,449.
Defendant, you are aged 33, single and of clear record. You have been educated up to Form 3 and live with your mother and uncle in Heng Cheuk House. Mr Hay-yiu Wong, your counsel, has mitigated on your behalf, and informed the court that all along throughout your adult life you had been gainfully employed as a goods delivery driver until 2021, due to the pandemic, you lost your employment. For the next odd year, you had tried to live off your savings to which you had of course used up after a year. When you were unemployed, you foolishly agreed to act as a courier to deliver dangerous drugs to earn quick money.
I am informed that you live with your mother and uncle and you had looked after your mother for all these years who was suffering from heart and kidney and liver diseases. Although you have a younger brother, he himself is married with his own family so you have taken up the burden of looking after your mother.
Regarding this offence, Mr Wong has correctly referred to the case Attorney General v Rojas and also the case of Lau Tak Ming in regard to sentencing guidelines for trafficking in the dangerous drug cocaine.
Defendant, you had been trafficking in an amount of 65.08 grammes of cocaine. This falls within the band of within 50 to 200 grammes which, if you are convicted after trial, would attract a sentence of between 8 to 12 years’ imprisonment. In this case, defendant, as clearly admitted by you immediately upon your arrest and in your video-recorded interview under caution you were a courier helping others to deliver the drugs in return for money.
In sentencing you for this quantity of drugs, that is 65.08 grammes of cocaine, had you been convicted after trial, I would have taken a starting point of 8 years and 3 months’ imprisonment.
There are no aggravating factors in this case as Mr Wong correctly says, the strongest mitigating factor is your plea of guilty at the very first opportunity and for this you are entitled to a full one-third discount.
In the circumstances, defendant, you shall be sentenced to 5 years and 6 months’ imprisonment.