HKSAR v. Chan Leong Chak

DCCC38/2011

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONGSPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 38 OF 2011

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.Defendant, you have been convicted on your own plea of guilty to an amended charge of possession of a dangerous drug, contrary to section 8(1)(a) and (2) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap.134, Laws of Hong Kong, the particulars being that you on 16 November of last year at the place named in the charge had in your possession 26.71 grammes of a powder containing 19.02 grammes of ketamine.

2.The amended Summary of Facts which you have admitted are simple and describe how you were intercepted by officers, having opened the driver’s door of an LGV. You were searched and two plastic bags were found from your right jeans pocket.

3.The two bags contained the drugs being the subject matter of the charge, and under caution you told the police the drugs were for your own consumption. I am told that the street value of the drugs would be somewhere in the region of $3,000.

4.You are 27 years of age and have three previous convictions, the first two being similar offences of possession of dangerous drugs and the last conviction in 2008 being one of trafficking in dangerous drugs, when you were sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment.

5.Nothing of any substance has been put before me by way of mitigation, save for your plea of guilty, and I will give you due credit for that.

6.I propose to adopt a starting point of 18 months’ imprisonment. However, I am satisfied that taking account of your being a drug addict in possession of this quantity of ketamine, that this would pose a latent risk of some of these drugs falling into the hands of others.

7.I am fortified in this belief in the knowledge that your last conviction was indeed for trafficking in dangerous drugs. I therefore propose to increase the starting point by 6 months to one of 2 years’ imprisonment.

8.You are entitled to a one-third discount in sentence to account for your plea of guilty to the charge. I so discount it, arriving at a sentence of 16 months’ imprisonment.