HKSAR v. Lo Kwun Fung

HCCC237/2008

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 237 OF 2008

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Before   Deputy High Court Judge Toh

Date:    4 March 2009 at 10.21 am

Offence:  Trafficking in a dangerous drug, etc.  (販運危險藥物等罪)

Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above case

COURT:  Defendant, please stand.

The defendant has pleaded guilty in the Magistrates’ Court to three counts of trafficking in dangerous drugs and one court of resisting police officer in the due execution of his duty.

The facts are quite simple.  On 18 April last year the defendant was driving his car and accelerated the car upon seeing the police.  The police managed subsequently to stop the defendant’s car.  On an initial search of his person the drugs, in Charge 1, was found in the left rear pocket of his trousers.  This was subsequently found to be a total of a crystalline solid of 9.77 grammes, containing 9.75 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride. 

At that time the defendant put up a fierce struggle.  Subsequently he was subdued.  This was the subject matter of the 2nd charge of resisting a police officer.  Subsequently a further search was conducted, and eight more packets of dangerous drugs were found inside the car, the subject matter of the 3rd charge.  And this was a total of 4.21 grammes containing 4.21 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride.

The defendant and the seized exhibits were taken to the police station.  Inside the police station a thorough body search was conducted on the defendant, and the police found 11 packets of dangerous drugs inside the defendant’s underwear, which is the subject matter of the 4th charge.  These are 7.13 grammes of a crystalline solid, containing 7.11 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride. 

The defendant is aged 25 now and has some 12 previous convictions, with two to do with dangerous drugs.  One of it was for possession of dangerous drugs when he was about 18 years old, and the second one was in 2007 when he was sent to the DATC for possession of dangerous drugs.  So, as Mr Leung pointed out, this is his first trafficking in dangerous drugs offence.  His motivation for committing these present offences, I am told, is that he owes money to some money lender. 

The main mitigating factor on behalf of the defendant is that he had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.  As I have said, the defendant pleaded guilty in the Magistrates’ Court and was committed to the High Court for sentencing.  So it is an indication of his remorse, and, also, a strong mitigating factor is present in matters that I have heard in chambers.  So all this is a good indication of the remorse of the defendant. 

The sentencing tariff for trafficking in methamphetamine hydrochloride, or what is commonly known as Ice, was laid down in the case of Ching Kwok Hung, which recommended that for trafficking of amounts between 10 to 70 grammes would merit a sentence of 7 to 10 years.  In this case, the total amount of drugs for the three charges amounted to 21.07 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride, and that would merit a starting point of 7½ years.  As I have said, because of the mitigating factors I agree with Mr Leung that the discount should be one of 40 per cent. 

So thus on Count 1, 3 and 4 the defendant is sentenced to 4 years and 8 months’ imprisonment on each charge, to be served concurrently.  On the 2nd charge of resisting police officer in the execution of his duty, a starting point sentence of 10 weeks will be reduced to 4 weeks because of the same mitigating circumstance.  These 4 weeks will be served concurrent to the sentence of 4 years and 8 months. 

So the defendant goes to prison for 4 years and 8 months.