HKSAR v. Cheung Pui Lam

DCCC828/2011

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 828 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 8.78 grammes of heroin hydrochloride.

2.On the afternoon of 7 June, he was spotted by officers when he was acting furtively near the junction of Nathan Road and Public Square Street in Yaumatei.  He was intercepted and 50 packets of heroin were found in his trousers pocket.  He told the police that he was instructed to deliver the heroin for a reward of $10 per packet.

3.He had $847 with him at the time of the arrest and the street value of the heroin was $8,400.  

4.The defendant has 13 previous convictions, nine of them drug-related, and in recent times, in 2005 and 2009, he has been sent to prison for trafficking in dangerous drugs for a period of 16 months and 20 months respectively.  He was last released from prison in October last year and was out of prison only 8 months before he re-offended.

5.I am told in mitigation that the defendant is 38 years of age, he is divorced, he was educated to Form 1 standard and he is unemployed.  I was told that the defendant had an unfortunate upbringing.  He was brought up in a fishing community until the age of 16, when his father suddenly left.  Because of that, his mother had to work and she did so by earning money by selling vegetables and it was a very hard life for her. 

6.These would be strong mitigating circumstances were it not for your 13 previous court appearances.  Your background is relevant if it is your first, second or third offence, but you have committed so many offences your background is really irrelevant.  I accept that your mother has had a hard life and you have done very little to make it any easier for her.

7.The assertions in your letter that you intend to turn over a new leaf pale into insignificance when one considers that against the background of your record.  You are a weak character and unless you decide to do something positive about your drug taking you are going to go in and out of prison for long periods.

8.As your counsel has rightly indicated, the quantity of drugs involved in this case means that this case is at the lowest band of the Lau Tak Ming scale.  For amounts of less than 10 grammes the sentence is between 2 and 5 years.  The quantity in this case is 8.78 grammes.

9.I take a starting point of 4 years’ imprisonment. I will give you one-third reduction to reflect you guilty plea, which is the only mitigation in this case, and you will therefore go to prison for 32 months.