Read the full judgment text of CACC 000460/1988 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 14 April 1989 before A Bon Silke VP, Hunter JA, Penlington JA.
Criminal law – dangerous drugs – possession for the purpose of trafficking contrary to section 7 of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Cap 134) – sentencing tariff – search of room yielding mixtures containing salts and esters of morphine together with Part I poisons under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance (Cap 138) – applicant pleaded guilty in Magistrates' Court and committed to High Court for sentence – whether quantity-based tariff in Chan Chi-Ming v B [1979] HKLR 491 remains appropriate basis for sentencing – whether No 4 heroin should be notionally converted into No 3 heroin for application of the tariff – held, yes, following the approach in Pravit Pramechit v the Queen for heroin base, notional conversion of No 4 to No 3 is preferred to give one scale and a true comparable – whether quantity-based tariff has a practical ceiling – held, a tariff based primarily on quantities runs out at 20 kg, beyond which sensible distinctions based on quantity can no longer be drawn – whether an after-trial tariff for section 7 can practically exceed 20 years – held, no; above any section 7 tariff space must be left for greater penalties appropriate for the trafficker, manufacturer, and importer – whether starting figure of 23-25 years adopted by trial judge was too high and whether insufficient weight was given to applicant's role as a simple warehouseman – held, starting figure was too high and the new '20 kg' cut-off has an element of novelty to the applicant's disadvantage – leave to appeal granted, application treated as hearing of appeal, sentence reduced from 18 years to 14 years as an act of mercy – refined tariff: quantities between 1 kg and 20 kg attract a range of 8 to 20 years with regard to both quantity and the defendant's particular role; quantities above 20 kg attract sentences in the region of 20 years after trial.
Legal issues: Notional conversion of No 4 heroin to No 3 heroin for tariff purposes · Cut-off point X kg for quantity-based sentencing distinctions · Whether 18-year sentence was manifestly excessive
Outcome: Application for leave to appeal allowed and treated as the hearing of the appeal; sentence reduced from 18 years to 14 years imprisonment as an act of mercy.