HKSAR v. So Wai Yin

DCCC617/2010

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONGSPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 617 OF 2010

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.The defendant has pleaded guilty to one charge of trafficking in 27.30 grammes of a powder containing 20.18 grammes of ketamine.

2.In the afternoon of 1 April this year, police officers saw the defendant acting furtively at the Wah Lai Estate, Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon.

3.Upon a search, two plastic bags containing the ketamine were found in the defendant’s right front trousers pocket. He also had cash in the sum of $2,180, and two mobile phones.

4.The defendant was arrested and, under caution, he admitted he was going to sell the ketamine in the Mong Kok area.

5.At 3.20 pm on the same day the police took the defendant back to where he was living in Lai Lam House, in Lai Yan Court, Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon. In his bedroom were found two electronic scales and 205 resealable plastic bags of different sizes.

6.Subsequently, the defendant admitted in a post‑recorded caution statement that he was going to share the ketamine with his friends in Mong Kok.

7.The defendant is aged 24 and has previous convictions. There is one similar for possession of dangerous drugs in 2006, when he was fined.

8.I am informed that as far as background is concerned, the defendant is a transport worker, according to his antecedents statement, and lives with his grandmother and a younger sister.

9.In mitigation, the defendant through his lawyer has submitted a letter from his employer, a Mr Lee, who testifies to his good work ethic, but the letter is unsigned and not on any company paper, so I do not give it much consideration.

10.Mr Tang on his behalf said that the defendant committed this crime out of playfulness. That I do not accept because electronic scales and a big stack of resealable plastic bags was found in his bedroom. He was certainly not in this out of playfulness.

11.The amount is not small, and as Mr Tang correctly pointed out, the case of Hii Siew Cheng has already indicated guidelines for trafficking in ketamine. For trafficking in between 10 to 50 grammes of ketamine a recommended sentence after trial is 4 to 6 years.

12.The amount in this case is 20.18 grammes, so the sentence should be one of 4½ years after trial. Because the defendant has pleaded guilty, he deserves a one-third off, so he is sentenced therefore to 3 years’ imprisonment.