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HCCC226/2011
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 226 OF 2011
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HKSAR |
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v. |
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Yeung Chit-ying |
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| Before: |
Deputy High Court Judge Stuart-Moore |
| Date: |
31 August 2011 at 9.42 am |
| Present: |
Mr Peter John Power, SADPP, of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR
Ms Liang, Cecilia, assigned by the Director of Legal Aid, for the Defendant |
| Offence: |
Trafficking in a dangerous drug (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, aged 35, was stopped at the Customs Hall at Lok Ma Chau and was being searched when she announced that she had ice on her. She had attached two bags with cling film around her waist and she then asked to be given a chance as her son was only five years old. In due course, the defendant pleaded guilty in the Magistrates' Court and she has confirmed her plea in these proceedings.
The defendant has had convictions for the possession of drugs in the past for which she has attended a Drug Addiction Treatment Centre, but there has been nothing of that kind since 2002. More relevant to these proceedings is that she claimed to be an abuser of ice about every two or three days and a drug abuser since she was 18. She has been unemployed since 2004. Well, all of that forms the background to the facts of this case.
The ice is worth an estimated $150,108. The narcotic content weighs 241.66 grammes. The defendant had arranged with someone in Shenzhen to collect the drugs on the day before her arrest. Her reward for bringing the drugs into Hong Kong was said by her to have been $2,000.
The tariffs for this kind of offence are clear and were intended to be a deterrent. Apparently, the defendant was not deterred by the likely consequences of her action if she was found out, regardless of her young son, for whom as an unmarried mother she had responsibility. She was married but the father appears to have left the scene completely.
In AG v Ching Kwok Hung [1991] 2 HKLR 125, the sentencing guideline for between 70 and 300 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride is 10 to 14 years’ imprisonment. Accordingly, for the amount with which this case is concerned, a starting point of 13 years’ imprisonment is appropriate and this must be enhanced by 6 months to take into account the cross‑border nature of this offence. However, giving you full credit for your plea of guilty, the starting point overall of 13½ years will be reduced by a third.
Miss Yeung, would you stand, please? Your sentence is 9 years’ imprisonment.
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