HKSAR v. Ching Mei Sze
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DCCC140/2010 IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE HONG KONGSPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION CRIMINAL CASE NO. 140 OF 2010 ----------------------
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--------------------- Reasons for Sentence --------------------- 1.Ching Mei-sze, you have been convicted on your plea of one charge of trafficking in 9.76 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 9.55 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride (Charge 1) and one charge of possession of dangerous drugs, namely, 0.60 grammes of a powder containing 0.51 grammes of ketamine. 2.Both quantities of drugs were found by the police in your handbag which you had with you when you were sitting on the staircase of the 18th Floor of Shek Hing House, Shek Lei Estate, at around 1.35 pm on the 17 December last year. At the time, you were with a male, a Mr Ng, whom I am told was your boyfriend. He, it appears, is a man who is considerably older than you, namely, 49 years old. 3.The methamphetamine hydrochloride that was in your handbag was in 11 plastic bags and had a retail value of approximately HK$7,000. The ketamine was in a single plastic bag and was worth HK$72. 4.You claimed to the police that both quantities of drugs had been bought for your own consumption. However, by your plea this morning you have admitted that that was not true, at least in so far as the “Ice” was concerned. Your counsel, Mr Cheng, has told me that you gave this false story to the police in order to protect your boyfriend. 5.Drug trafficking is an evil business. The reason that the courts view it so seriously is that drugs frequentlydestroys the health and often takes the lives of those who become addicted. 6.As Mr Cheng, your counsel, will have informed you, the normal starting point for those who traffic in up to 10 grammes of “Ice” is between 3 and 7 years’ imprisonment. In your case, the 9.55 grammes are very close to the upper limit of that tariff band. 7.I have borne in mind all that your counsel, Mr Cheng, has most eloquently urged on your behalf. For the purpose of sentence, I am prepared to accept that the drugs were in your possession, rather than in the possession of your 49-year old boyfriend who you knew was a drug trafficker, because he told you that it was safer that you should carry them. 8.I take into account that you may have not gained any direct financial benefit from what you were doing. I also bear in mind your age, 18, at the time. However, despite the fact that you were 18, you would have been fully aware of the gravity of what you were doing and the risks that would be involved if you were apprehended. 9.In the circumstances of this case, I am prepared to adopt a starting point of 6 years’ imprisonment. That starting point reflects the role that you were playing in relation to the trafficking in the methamphetamine hydrochloride. 10.You have pleaded guilty and are therefore entitled to the usual discount of one-third. Therefore, on Charge 1, I sentence you to 4 years’ imprisonment. 11.So far as Charge 2 is concerned, this is your second conviction for simple possession of dangerous drugs. In respect of this offence, I adopt a starting point of 12 months’ imprisonment. I do not find that there was any significant risk that you would pass these drugs on to others. On that Charge 2, you are entitled to the usual discount of one-third to reflect your pleas, and I accordingly pass a sentence of 8 months’ imprisonment on that count. 12.Both sentences are to run concurrently and therefore the total sentence I pass is one of 4 years’ imprisonment.
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