Lam Kok Chiu v. The Queen

CACC000291/1971

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF HONG KONG

(APPELLATE JURISDICTION)

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 291 OF 1971

-----------------

Coram: Huggins, J.

Date of Judgment: 4th June, 1971.

-----------------

JUDGMENT

-----------------

1. The Appellant was sentenced to 6 months' imprisonment for unlawful possession of dangerous drugs. He was searched in the street and the record says that he was found with one packet of dangerous drugs. The analyst's report shows that the packet contained 0.1 gramme of prepared opium.

2. The Appellant has had previous convictions in respect of dangerous drug offences and has twice had treatment at the Drug Addiction Treatment Centre. This treatment has not been successful in breaking him of the habit altogether but it does appear that he has more recently been taking opium rather than heroin, which he was smoking before. It is not clear whether this was known to the learned Magistrate. He himself thought that this was "a fairly hopeless case" and he imposed the sentence of 6 months' imprisonment because he felt that anything less would be utterly ineffective. The report from the Commissioner of Prisons indicates that the Appellant has no genuine desire to reform and I have considerable sympathy with the learned Magistrate in the difficulty he had in deciding the proper course to take. Not without some hesitation I have come to the conclusion that this is a case where it would not be improper for me to take a more lenient view based on the fact that the Appellant has changed from heroin to opium and on the fact that I doubt whether a sentence of 6 months' imprisonment would, in any event, break him of the habit.

3. The appeal will be allowed, and such sentence substituted as will enable him to be released today. The Appellant should, however, understand that he is not likely to receive such leniency on any future occasion.

4th June, 1971.

Representation: