HKSAR v. Leung Sau Sing, Ramon

DCCC681/2011

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 681 OF 2011

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.The defendant has pleaded guilty to a charge of trafficking in 15.9 grammes of cocaine.

2.In the early evening of 14 April he was observed by police officers walking quickly along Park Street, near Jordan Street and he was looking nervous and looking about him.  He was stopped and found to be in possession of the drugs, the subject of the charge which were in 38 plastic bags.  He said they were given to him for delivery and he was to be paid $2,000 for that.  At the time of his arrest, the defendant had in excess of $26,000 on his person and the drugs were valued at $21,831.

3.Four matters are recorded on the record but the last offence was in 1989 and none of the offences were for drug related matters. 

4.The defendant is 55 years of age.  He was born in Hong Kong and educated to Secondary 2 level.  His father is deceased and his mother is in her 80s.  He has four siblings and his mother lives with one of them.  The defendant is divorced and his wife and daughter live on the Mainland.  The defendant has worked variously as a bar tender and a construction worker earning in the region of $6,000 per month and I’m told that out of that he paid $500 to his mother every three months.  I am told that the defendant has been unemployed for the last few months.  He has not been claiming comprehensive social security and I am told by his counsel that he had been living off his savings.  I am told that the defendant is not a drug addict. 

5.As counsel rightly acknowledges, and obviously he has told the defendant, the usual sentence for trafficking in this quantity of drugs is in the region of five to eight years.  The quantity of drugs in this case is at the lower end of that scale.

6.Taking into account all the circumstances I propose to adopt a starting point at the lowest end of that scale, five years’ imprisonment and reduce that by one-third to reflect the guilty plea entered by the defendant.  The defendant will, therefore, go to prison for 40 months.