HKSAR v. Lo Siu Fung

DCCC1252/2008

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 1252 OF 2008

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HKSAR

v.

Lo Siu-fung

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Before:   H H Judge Browne

Date: 16 April 2009 at 9.52 am

Offence:  Trafficking in a dangerous drug (販運危險藥物)

Reasons for Sentence

1. The defendant pleaded guilty to an offence of trafficking in dangerous drugs.  The quantity of drugs is 14.04 grammes of cocaine.

2. The facts admitted by the defendant disclose that just before midnight on 10 November in 2008, officers were on duty in the Sham Shui Po area when they saw the defendant and some others in the vicinity of Fu Cheong Street.  The defendant was searched, and the drugs, the subject of the charge, were found in his possession.  The defendant was with some friends at the time but when he was arrested and detained, he said that the drugs were his for his own consumption and they had nothing to do with his friends.

3. The defendant has one conviction recorded on his record and that was in 2003.  He was fined $1,000 for possession of dangerous drugs.

4. In mitigation, I have been told that the defendant is 26 years of age and he is single although he has a fiancée and they plan to marry later this year.  He was out of work at the time of his arrest but prior to that, he was working as a computer salesman earning some $10,000 per month and had worked as a waiter before that.

5. I am told that the defendant has been employed in his entire adult life and has always given half of his earnings to his mother.  I am told that shortly before the commission of the offence, he lost his job and did not want to claim social security.  I am told that one of the reasons for the commission of the offence was the financial situation of the defendant.  Sadly, his mother contracted cancer in 2004 and she has required medication since that time, and I am told that the defendant took on the burden of paying for those medical expenses, and through that, he got into debt, and I am told that it was in those circumstances that he came across a friend who introduced him to the possibility of earning some quick money by trafficking in dangerous drugs.

6. I am told that in the trafficking in this case, the defendant was not the mastermind.  He was simply a small player in the exercise.  I am told that his parents separated sometime ago and the father has lost contact with the family.  He has an elder sister who works as a clerk and a younger brother who does casual work from time to time.  I am told that he comes from a very good and supporting family.  That is evidenced by the fact that they have all come to court today to show their support for the defendant as has his fiancée.

7. A number of letters have been handed to the court from family members, from the defendant and from his fiancée.  They all describe the defendant as being a very filial son and emphasise the concern that he has for his mother.  I am told that he also visits his grandfather who lives in China.

8. Quite clearly, the defendant bitterly regrets his involvement in this matter.  Clearly, it is an offence which has serious consequences for the defendant and it is a tragedy for the defendant and for his supportive family.  But trafficking in dangerous drugs is a very serious matter.  It causes huge social problems in Hong Kong and it wrecks lives of not only the abusers but of their families, and the courts have said that little account can be taken of good records and good family backgrounds of people who are arrested and convicted of these sorts of offences.

9. Counsel has told me that he has explained to the defendant the usual sentence which is handed down for offences of this kind involving this quantity of drugs.  For trafficking in between 10 and 50 grammes of cocaine, the appropriate sentence is 5 to 8 years. 

10. I give the defendant full credit for his guilty plea, and taking into account all the circumstances, I propose to take a starting point at the lowest end of that sentence band.  I take a starting point of 5 years’ imprisonment and reduce that by one-third to reflect the guilty plea.  The defendant will therefore go to prison for 3 years and 4 months; 40 months.