HKSAR v. Law Chun Ho

DCCC 541/2010

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 541 OF 2010

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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 12.08 grammes of a solid containing 9.15 grammes of cocaine. On 8 March 2010, the police laid ambush at the staircase next to Room 203, Wang Chiu House, Wang Tau Hom Estate, Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon, Hong Kong. At about 9:50 p.m., the Defendant left his flat at Room 205 of Wang Chiu House. He kept looking around and back. The police intercepted him. Nothing illegal was found on him.

2.Acting upon a search warrant, the police searched his flat. They found under a pillow inside his bedroom a pink plastic bag which contained:

(1)  55 resealable transparent plastic bags containing in total 12.08 grammes of solid containing 9.15 grammes of cocaine.

(2)  a number of resealable transparent plastic bags;

(3)  1 electronic scale.

3.The police first arrested and cautioned him for possession of dangerous drugs, he said that he had no money, his parents had no jobs and so he sold cocaine. The police immediately arrested and cautioned him for trafficking in a dangerous drug. He said that all the drugs belonged to him and had nothing to do with his family.

4.Subsequently, in Wong Tai Sin Police Station, in a video-recorded interview under caution, he said that:

(1)  He wanted to give money to his family and so he trafficked in cocaine;

(2)  He came to know of a male, “Ah Wai”, in a bar in Prince Edward in early January 2010.  Ah Wai asked if he wanted to make quick money by trafficking in cocaine;

(3)  He agreed and started trafficking for Ah Wai since January 2010;

(4)  He obtained cocaine together with other paraphernalia from Ah Wai, including the cocaine seized and the resealable transparent plastic bags in February 2010 after the Chinese New Year;

(5)  He had already sold 35 small bags of cocaine and waited for instructions from Ah Wai on the remaining cocaine as found by the police under his pillow;

(6)  He always transacted with people at the Ground Floor near Wang Chiu House;

(7)  He could earn $100 for selling each small bag of cocaine;

(8)  He had already earned $7,000 in total, which was spent on living.

Personal background and mitigation put forward

5.He is now 18 years of age. He worked as a cable TV technician since March 2010. He had a clear record until he committed the offence of possession of a dangerous drug on 22 January 2010. He was charged on 2 March 2010 and granted court bail in Kwun Tong Magistracy on 5 March 2010. Three days later, he committed the present offence. His solicitor accepts such as an aggravating factor.

6.On 30 April 2010, he was sentenced to DATC in Kwun Tong Magistracy. His solicitor tells me that he has been clear of his drug dependence. Given his age, a training centre report may be appropriate. I understand that in appropriate though sparingly few cases, a training centre order may be imposed. I order such a report with a clear acknowledgment by the Defendant that the final sentence may be imprisonment even where a training centre order is recommended by the Correctional Services Department.

7.The training centre report lodged before me today indicates that he has remained a drug dependant. He is not suitable for detention in the training centre.

Sentencing principles

8.There are sentencing guidelines for trafficking in cocaine. In Attorney General v Rojas [1994] 1 HKC 342, Silke VP equated the adverse psychotropic impact of cocaine with heroin. The sentencing guidelines in R v Lau Tak-ming [1990] 2 HKLR 370 were said to be directly applicable as follows:

（1）  Below 10 grammes of heroin, 2 to 5 years’ imprisonment;

（2）  10 to 50 grammes, 5 to 8 years；

（3）  50 to 200 grammes, 8 to 12 years；

（4）  200 to 400 grammes, 12 to 15 years;

（5）  400 to 600 grammes, 15 to 20 years；

（6）  over 600 grammes, 20 years upwards.

Sentencing this Defendant

9.According to what he said upon caution, he had been selling cocaine since February. That means several weeks before his arrest. So far he had sold 35 bags of cocaine. There is the aggravating factor of his committing the present offence whilst on court bail for a related offence. I take 5 years as the starting point. I reduce it by one-third because of his plea of guilty. There is no other mitigation. His sentence is 3 years and 4 months.