HKSAR v. Cheung Fu Keung

DCCC 1157/2009

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 1157 OF 2009

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Reasons for Sentence

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Charge and facts

1.The Defendant pleads guilty to trafficking in a dangerous drug, namely 9.86 grammes of a mixture containing 5.13 grammes of heroin hydrochloride.

2.In the evening of 20 August 2009, the police found him furtive in Tsui Ying House, Tsui Ping Estate, Kwun Tong, Kowloon. A body search yielded 2 bags which contained 30 and 26 red plastic bags of drug. After arrest and caution, he said the heroin was partly for his own consumption and partly for sale to others.

3.In a subsequent video-recorded interview, he said a male on the previous day had asked if he wanted to sell heroin to others to earn money. He agreed and picked up the drug in question on the top of a rubbish bin outside Kwun Tong Swimming Pool. He intended to sell the drug in Tsui Ping Estate at $150 per packet. He would receive $20 per packet as remuneration.

Mitigation put forward

4.He is now 49 years old. Out of his numerous previous convictions, 3 were similar to the present offence. They were dated 1999, 2005 and 2008 respectively. He is single but lives with his mother, who is now 84 years old. His father has deceased more than 30 years ago. He has been on public assistance before arrest. He committed the present offence to cater for his drug habit. He had to sell quite a number of packets to finance his daily drug spending of $200 every day. Most of the drug in question was for sale to others.

Sentencing guidelines for trafficking in heroin

5.The Court of Appeal in The Queen v Lau Tak Ming [1990] 2 HKLR 370 had laid down guidelines for trafficking in heroin whereby a narcotic weight of up to 10 grammes shall attract 2 to 5 years’ imprisonment.

6.In the same judgment, it was stated that within the suggested bands, the sentencing judge might properly take into account the following factors:

(1)  The profit which, because of adulteration, the place of ultimate sale, or otherwise, may reasonably be expected to be derived from trafficking in the quantities of the dangerous drugs involved;

(2)  The number of packets;

(3)  The type of mixture containing the narcotic;

(4)  The degree of involvement of the offender; and

(5)  His previous history of narcotic offences and matters of mitigation which may have been advanced on his behalf.

Sentencing the Defendant

7.The Defendant was a seller. The large number of packets meant a large circulation. I take a starting point of 4 years. I reduce it by one-third because of his plea of guilty. There are no other mitigating factors. The sentence is 2 years 8 months.