CRIMINAL CASE NO. 62 OF 2010
COURT: This defendant pleaded guilty at committal on 26 February 2010 to one charge of Trafficking in Dangerous Drugs. The quantity was 996.84 grammes of a powder containing 816.40 grammes of ketamine.
He pleaded guilty to a second charge of Possession of Dangerous Drugs. That was 0.84 of a gramme of a mixture containing 0.46 of a gramme of heroin hydrochloride, 0.59 of a gramme of a crystalline solid containing 0.59 of a gramme of methamphetamine hydrochloride, and 5.31 grammes of a powder containing 4.09 grammes of ketamine.
Today the defendant confirmed the pleas he had given at committal and also confirmed the facts that he had admitted at committal. Those facts show that on 5 November 2009, the defendant was stopped for a clearance search at Borden Control Point after a positive ion scan of his belongings. He was found to be wearing a pair of women’s underpants which were taped to his body and which covered one grey and one white plastic bag. Each has found to contain two plastic bags which contained the suspected dangerous drugs.
When asked what he thought it was, the defendant said “K Chai”. He was arrested and cautioned and he said, when questioned, that he thought the weight of the K Chai was about 1 kilogram. There was a later house search made of his premises and the drugs that are particularised in Charge 2 were found there. The defendant admitted to police that he knew what each drug was, but said he had bought them for his own consumption.
Subsequent analysis by the Government Chemist confirmed the nature and quantities of the drug as set out in the two charges. The estimated retail value was $115,633.
In a subsequent Video Interview, the defendant said that he was delivering the ketamine for somebody. He had been given the dangerous drugs in a hotel room in Mainland China and told to go to Hong Kong where he would be given instructions about their disposal. It was the first time he had done this work.
Immigration records show that he had left Hong Kong on 5 November 2009 at 2.03 am and he was stopped at about 1304 on the same day.
The defendant has a criminal record which begins in 1984 with a bookmaking offence and then, up to 1991, there were 10 conviction for selling counterfeit goods. In 1993, for a robbery, he was sent to DATC and, in the same year, he was convicted of two charges of possession of dangerous drugs. He was also sent to DATC for those offences.
In 1995, for possession of dangerous drugs, he went twice to DATC, and for two offences of possession of apparatus, he also went to DATC in that year. He was also convicted of possession of Part I poisons in 1995. In 1998, for possession of dangerous drugs, he went to prison for 7 months and in 1999, for a similar offence, he was sent to prison for 9 months. He appears to have managed to keep out of trouble since that time.
The defendant is aged 53. He is divorced and has little contact with his ex-wife and son. He was working mainly as a self-employed hawker in the Temple Street Market and although he could make $8,000 a month, according to him, he had a dangerous drug habit which meant that that salary was probably not adequate.
His counsel advises that the defendant went to Mainland China to find jade stock and told his friends there that he needed money because his father required money for medical treatment. As a result, he agreed to do this work and agreed to do it for $3,000. He knew this was a serious offence and that it involved importation from Mainland China to Hong Kong.
He says that he is remorseful and wishes to apologise to his parents, but the strongest mitigation, as Mr Kwan his counsel has said, is his plea of guilty.
In respect of Charge 1, the guideline quantity for 600 to 1,000 grammes is in the range of 12 to 14 years’ imprisonment. In this case, I take a starting point of 14 years; I add 1 year for the importation aspect of this case, which makes a total of 15 years. I give a full one-third discount and sentence him on the 1st charge to 10 years’ imprisonment.
In respect of Charge 2, I have looked at the quantities of drug concerned. This is a possession charge. I take a starting point of 18 months. With the one-third discount, I reduce that to 1 year and sentence him to 1 year’s imprisonment on the 2nd charge.
I order that 6 months of the sentence on Charge 2 runs concurrently with the sentence on Charge 1. That makes a total of 10 years 6 months’ imprisonment.