HKSAR v. Sebudo Hassan Hiza

Case No.HCCC 15/2011
Court
High Court CFI
Date15 Mar 2011
Judge
Case Document
100%

HCCC15/2011

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 15 OF 2011

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  HKSAR  
  v  
  Sebudo Hassan Hiza  

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Before:

Deputy High Court Judge A Chan

Date:

15 March 2011 at 9.45 am

Present:

Ms Catherine Ko, SPP of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR
Mr Mughal Hanif Mohamed, instructed by Messrs Tang & Lee, for the Accused

Offence:

Trafficking in dangerous drugs (販運危險藥物)

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Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case

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COURT: The defendant pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. He was committed to this court for sentence.

The Summary of Facts which was admitted by the defendant reveals the following: on 2 June 2010, the defendant was intercepted by Customs Officers at Hong Kong International Airport. He was escorted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for examination. 95 pellets of drugs were found concealed inside his body. The drugs were later analysed by the Government Chemist and found to contain 459 grammes of heroin hydrochloride and 434 grammes of monoacetylmorphine hydrochloride. The street value is estimated to be HK$1.15 million.

Monoacetylmorphine hydrochloride is a derivative of heroin and for the purpose of sentencing will be treated the same as heroin.

The defendant is a merchant by occupation and has a clear record in Hong Kong.

Guidelines on sentencing are clear. Amounts of over 600 grammes fall into the very large quantity. 893 grammes will therefore attract a starting point of 21 years.

The defendant acted as a courier to bring dangerous drugs into Hong Kong for reward. An additional one year will be added to reflect this aggravating feature. The defendant will be given the usual one-third discount for his plea.

In conclusion, the defendant is therefore sentenced to 14 years and 8 months’ imprisonment.