HKSAR v. Man Ho Kong

DCCC141/2010

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 141 OF 2010

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.The defendant pleaded guilty to a charge of trafficking in dangerous drugs.

2.The particulars of the offence were that on 18 December last year, in Tsuen Wan, he trafficked in 32.46 grammes of ketamine. At 0055 hours, on 18 December, the defendant was seen by two police officers in the Tsuen King Circuit in Tsuen Wan acting suspiciously. He was stopped and searched. The drugs the subject of the charge were found in his possession. Under caution he admitted that the drugs were ketamine and that he was delivering them to somebody else for a reward of $300.

3.The defendant has a clear record, and is 19 years of age. He came to Hong Kong in 1998 with his parents and younger brother. I am told the defendant has completed Form 5 education here. He worked as a trainee cook, earning some $5,800 per month, but found that job difficult to cope with and gave it up. His mother is a housewife and his father works for a company.

4.I am told that since his arrest on 18 December he has been in custody. He committed the offence because he was in need of money. Since his arrest he has been in the Pik Uk Correctional Institution, and since his time there he has had an opportunity to reflect on his criminal behaviour and now feels remorseful.

5.Letters have been placed before the court from the defendant himself and from his mother. His mother’s letter states that she regards the defendant as a very good son in the past years and has respected his parents.

6.As the defendant will well know, this is a very serious crime. Drugs in Hong Kong create a major social problem. Those who traffic in this quantity of drugs cannot expect to be dealt with in any other way than a substantial custodial sentence. Very sadly, the majority of defendants who come before this court are of a similar age to this defendant, in their late teens. Youth, other than exceptional youth, is not a mitigating factor. Those who traffic in drugs must know that if they are caught they go to prison.

7.The Court of Appeal have said that for those who traffic between 10 and 50 grammes of ketamine should go to prison for between 4 to 6 years. This defendant trafficked in 32.46 grammes of ketamine. The appropriate sentence is one of 5 years’ imprisonment.

8.The only mitigating feature in this case is that the defendant has pleaded guilty. He is entitled to a discount to reflect his guilty plea, and the sentence will be reduced to 40 months’ imprisonment, that is 3 years and 4 months.