Read the full judgment text of CACC 000093/1995 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 7 June 1995 before Yang C.J., Power V.-P. and Mortimer J.A..
Criminal law – drug trafficking – trafficking in dangerous drugs by way of export – Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap. 134 – heroin (14.36 grammes) – sentencing – whether export to a foreign country is an aggravating factor beyond the guidelines in R v Lau Tak-ming [1990] 2 HKLR 370 – held, export across borders is a particularly serious circumstance engaging international obligations and may be treated as aggravation – credit for guilty plea – plea tendered on a false basis requiring Newton enquiry – whether any discount should be given – following R v David John Stevens (1986) 8 Cr.App.R(S) 297 and R v Jeffrey James Jauncey (1986) 8 Cr.App.R(S) 401, some small credit is due as a matter of principle even where the plea is not to the gravamen of the case and the defendant shows no remorse – applicant caught at Kai Tak Airport about to board a plane to Japan with 14.36g of heroin in six packets – cautioned statement admitted he was a courier for a man called On Kee, to be paid $5,000 – plea entered on basis drugs were for own use – Newton enquiry held and judge rejected applicant's claim that cautioned statement was concocted – judge took 6 years as starting point within 5–8 year bracket, declined any discount for plea because of lack of remorse and inevitable conviction, and reduced sentence by 6 months for first serious offence – final sentence 5½ years – on appeal, court upheld 6-year starting point and treatment of export as aggravation but held judge wrong in principle to give no credit at all for the plea – appeal allowed, sentence reduced to 5 years – 6 months additional credit for the plea, on top of the existing 6 months' reduction for the first serious offence.
Legal issues: Whether exporting drugs to a foreign country is an aggravating sentencing factor · Whether any credit is due for a guilty plea tendered on a false basis after a Newton hearing
Outcome: Application for leave to appeal against sentence granted; appeal allowed; sentence reduced from 5½ years to 5 years' imprisonment.
Cited by 2 cases