HKSAR v. Ho Chak Ming

HCCC67/2009

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 67 OF 2009

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Transcript of the Audio Recording

of the Sentence in the above Case

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COURT:  Defendant, you have pleaded guilty to a total of six charges, four of them being counts of trafficking in dangerous drugs, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap.134, Laws of Hong Kong, and Counts 5 and 6 are charges of using a forged ID card, contrary to section 7A(1) of the Registration of Persons Ordinance, Cap.177, Laws of Hong Kong.

The Summary of Facts, which you have admitted, indicate that yourself and another person checked into the Metro Park Hotel, in Waterloo Road, Kowloon, on 23 July of last year.  In order to facilitate this you presented a forged identity card to the hotel receptionist.  This is the subject matter of Count 5. 

Four days later, on 27 July of 2008, police carried out an anti-dangerous drugs operation at the hotel and raided the room, which you occupied, by force.  You presented the same forged identity card to the police when asked to produce proof of your identity, resulting in Count 6.

As a result of a search of the room the drugs, being the subject matter of Counts 1 to 4, were found in various places, including the safe where 380.08 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 357.61 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride, or ice, was found.  This is Count 1.

On a desk inside the room a further 48.89 grammes of ice were found.  This relates to Count 2 -- sorry I should have said 48.89 grammes of ice were found together with 6.18 grammes of cannabis in herbal form.

Inside a drawer of a desk and on a round table inside the room other smaller quantities of drugs, including ice, ketamine, cocaine, together with drug paraphernalia, were found. 

The total retail value of the drugs amounted to some HK$300,000.

In sentencing you, I take into account all that has been put before me by way of mitigation and I have read the letter that you have written to me but the only real mitigation in this case is your plea of guilty, for which I will give you full credit. 

On Count 1, I adopt a starting point of 15 years' imprisonment.  I will reduce this by one-third to take account of your plea of guilty, coming to 10 years' imprisonment on Count 1.

On Count 2, I adopt a starting point of 8½ years' imprisonment.  Once again, I will deduct one-third to take account of your plea of guilty, coming to 5 years and 8 months' imprisonment on Count 2.  I order 18 months of this sentence to run consecutively to the term of 10 years on Count 1.

On Count 3, my starting point is one of 4½ years' imprisonment, which after the one-third discount comes to a sentence of 3 years' imprisonment, which I order to run concurrently to Count 1.

On Count 4, I adopt a starting point of 3 years' imprisonment which, for the same reason, will be reduced to 2 years to take account of your plea of guilty.  This I order to run concurrently to the sentence on Count 1.

Counts 5 and 6 are offences of a different nature and the proper sentence for each of them is one of 15 months' imprisonment, which already takes account of your plea of guilty.  I sentence you to 15 months' imprisonment on each of these charges to run concurrently with each other but consecutive to the sentence on Count 1, coming to an overall sentence of 12 years and 9 months' imprisonment in all.