CRIMINAL CASE NO. 304 OF 2010
The facts of the case were simple. The defendant was stopped by the police upon leaving a building in Mongkok and found to be carrying the drug in count 1. With keys found on him, the police then entered a unit in that same building and found the drug in count 2 and a large number of packing paraphernalia.
Under caution, the defendant stated that the drug in count 1 was taken from the flat and that he was on his way to distribute it to someone else. As for the drug in count 2, it was obtained earlier in the day and would be re-packed for selling.
Subsequent investigation revealed that the defendant had rented the flat in question some 3 weeks before the day in question.
The defendant is aged 26. Born in Hong Kong and educated up to Form 2, he had worked mainly as a food and drink worker until the year 2009, when he became unemployed. He has on three occasions in five matters gathered a total of six previous convictions, none of which were similar although three of them were for simple possession. Otherwise, his background is far from privileged but nevertheless unremarkable.
In mitigation, counsel pointed to his early indication of a guilty plea. It was said that he committed the present offences because of the pressure of unemployment.
Given the total amount of drug involved in the two charges, the correct overall starting point should be one of 15½ years. Given the guilty pleas, the only real mitigating factor, it shall be reduced by one-third to 10 years and 4 months.
To give this effect, I sentence the defendant to 4 years and 4 months for count 1, and 9 years and 8 months for count 2, the sentences to run partly concurrently and partly consecutively to give a total of 10 years and 4 months.