CRIMINAL CASE NO. 433 OF 2010
COURT: On 17 December 2010, you were committed to this court for sentence having pleaded guilty in the Magistracy to three charges, namely: two charges of unlawful trafficking in a dangerous drug, methamphetamine hydrochloride or “Ice”, contrary to sections 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance; and one charge of possession of a quantity of the same dangerous drug, contrary to sections 8(1)(a) and (2) of the same Ordinance, which offences were committed on 20 July 2010.
By Charges 1 and 2, it was alleged that you had unlawfully trafficked in 6.06 grammes and 185.69 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride, respectively found upon your person and in your home. By Charge 3, it was alleged that you had in your possession at your home 12.13 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride.
Shortly before 10 pm on 20 July 2010, you were stopped by police officers on the 3rd Floor of Tien Fu Building, 156‑162 Ma Tau Wai Road in Hung Hom. A search of your person revealed the presence of the methamphetamine hydrochloride, the subject of Charge 1, contained in a plastic Ziplock bag in your trouser pocket. In answer to the words of caution, you said that you were “conveying it for someone”.
The police officers gained entrance to your home on the same floor of the place where you were arrested, with keys that were found upon your person. In a bag hanging from a table in those premises, the methamphetamine hydrochloride the subject of Charge 2 was found. In a metal box decorated with images of snowmen found on that desk, were five glass bottles in which was contained the methamphetamine hydrochloride the subject of Charge 3. Part of that quantity of dangerous drugs was found in 18 rolled-up pieces of tinfoil.
The words of caution having been administered to you once again, you said that you had bought the methamphetamine hydrochloride from a person you named by a nickname a couple of days earlier. You explained that you thought you would sell it for a “small profit”.
In a subsequent recorded interview, you said that you had bought 8 ounces of the methamphetamine hydrochloride for $80,000. Prior to your arrest you had sold about 1 ounce of that quantity of methamphetamine hydrochloride. You claimed that the methamphetamine hydrochloride found in the five glass bottles and the metal box was for your own use.
You are a single man of 36 years of age, although the court has been informed in the course of mitigation that you have two sons, one of whom is 15 years of age. They are cared for by your mother.
At the time of the offence you were a drug addict and unemployed, and you had been so unemployed since 2007. It is acknowledged that you have previous convictions. Those convictions include a number of offences for possession of dangerous drugs but none for unlawful trafficking in dangerous drugs.
By way of primary mitigation the court is asked to take into account the fact that you pleaded guilty and did so at an early stage in the Magistracy.
The judgment of the Court of Appeal in Attorney‑General v Ching Kwok Hung sets out relevant guidelines for sentencing in respect of unlawful trafficking in methamphetamine hydrochloride. I take a starting point of 4 years’ imprisonment in respect of Charge 1, and 12 years’ imprisonment in respect of Charge 2.
In respect of the offence of possession only of methamphetamine hydrochloride, which you claimed was for your own use, the judgment of the Court of Appeal in HKSAR v Wan Sheung Sum [2001] HKLR 406 provides guidance. Given the relatively large quantity of methamphetamine hydrochloride the subject of Charge 3, I take an initial starting point of 18 months’ imprisonment.
Given that you are a self-confessed purveyor of dangerous drugs for reward and that you were unemployed at the time of the commission of the offence, in my judgment the “latent risk” that you would have distributed to others some of the methamphetamine hydrochloride was significant. In respect of that “latent risk”, the initial starting point taken for sentence is to be enhanced by 12 months’ imprisonment. The resulting starting point taken for sentence, therefore, is 30 months’ imprisonment in respect of Charge 3.
For your early pleas of guilty you are entitled to, and you are given, a discount of one-third from that taken as the starting point for sentence.
Notwithstanding the fact that your misconduct is reflected by three separate charges, in my judgment, having regard to the proximity of place and time in respect of the commission of the offences it is appropriate that each of the individual sentences imposed upon you is ordered to be served concurrently one with the other.
In the result, you are sentenced to 2 years and 8 months’ imprisonment in respect of Charge 1, 8 years’ imprisonment in respect of Charge 2 and 1 year and 8 months’ imprisonment in respect of Charge 3. Those sentences are to be served concurrently one with the other.
Accordingly, in total, the sentence of imprisonment imposed upon you is 8 years.