CRIMINAL CASE NO. 312 OF 2010
COURT: The 23-year-old defendant pleaded guilty before me to an offence of trafficking in 3,340.44 grammes of ketamine, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance.
The facts of the case, admitted by the defendant, were that on 9 April of this year, police raided his premises in Fan Kam Road in the New Territories, and found in a drawer in the base of his bed various plastic bags containing approximately 112.6 grammes of ketamine. An electronic scale and a spoon bearing traces of ketamine were also found with the drugs in that location. The defendant was present at the time the drugs were found.
Upon further search of the defendant’s premises, the police found on a table in the living room further plastic bags containing 3,227.84 grammes of ketamine. During the search, police also found two plastic bags containing a Part 1 poison, para-amino benzene sulphide amide, one bag containing 425 grammes of the substance.
I do not take into account the defendant’s possession of this Part 1 poison in imposing sentence. He has not been charged with any offence arising out of his possession of that substance.
I accept also that a small portion of the ketamine was intended for the defendant’s own consumption, he being addicted to the drug at the time, but even that being so, given the very large amount in the possession of the defendant for the purposes of trafficking, his intended consumption of a small portion does not materially affect sentence.
I take a starting point of sentence of 17 years’ imprisonment.
The only mitigation available to the defendant is his plea of guilty. He gets full credit for that.
The starting point of sentence is thereby reduced to a sentence of 11 years 4 months’ imprisonment.