HKSAR v. Yau Chun Hung

DCCC435/2010

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 435 OF 2010

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.Yau Chun-hung, you have pleaded guilty to trafficking in 52.09 grammes of a powder containing 43.64 grammes of ketamine.

2.The offence occurred shortly after 6.30 pm on 8 March this year. Police officers observed you sitting alone in a private car outside a supermarket in Tsuen Wan. It was in the vicinity of Allway Gardens. You were seen to get out of the car and start to look around anxiously. The police approached you and eventually searched you. They found the drugs that are the subject of the charge in one of your trouser pockets.

3.When you were interviewed by the police, you claimed that you had been offered $300 by a man you did not know in Lam Tin to deliver the drugs to someone in Allway Gardens. This morning your solicitor, Mr Sit, has told me that that was not accurate and that, in fact, you had bought these drugs for $2,500 and were hoping to sell them on for $3,000.

4.This was not a small quantity of drugs. The prosecution say, and Mr Sit has not sought to dispute it, that the street value of the drugs at the time was approximately $5,000. As I am sure you are aware, drug trafficking is a very serious offence, so serious that the Court of Appeal in Hong Kong has said that, save in exceptional circumstances, those who traffic in between 10 and 50 grammes of ketamine should expect to receive sentences of between 4 and 6 years’ imprisonment after trial.

5.In your case, there are no exceptional circumstances. You decided to take the risk of trading in these drugs in return for the profits you could make. You now must face the consequences of that decision. The amount of drugs involved is at the upper end of the tariff band. Nevertheless, I am prepared to adopt a starting point of 5 years’ imprisonment. I have borne in mind all that Mr Sit has said on your behalf. I have borne in mind that although you have one previous conviction, that was simply for simple possession of dangerous drugs. The only real mitigation in your case is your plea of guilty for which you are entitled to the usual discount of one‑third. I accordingly sentence you to 3 years 4 months’ imprisonment.