CRIMINAL CASE NO. 189 OF 2011
COURT: The defendant was charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap. 134.
He pleaded guilty before me and I duly convicted him as charged after he admitted to the Summary of Facts.
The Summary of Facts disclosed that, on the day in question, a team of police officers were conducting an anti-dangerous drug operation in Tai Po Market and also near the Peking Billiard Club. The defendant was seen by two officers when he entered the said billiard club. The defendant went to the male toilet on the 1st floor of the club and he was intercepted by those two officers.
Upon search, the police found a black plastic bag tucked inside his jeans at the right waist. The bag was found to contain a resealable bag containing suspected dangerous drug. The defendant was then arrested for the offence of trafficking in a dangerous drug. Under caution, he said to the police he had nothing to say. He was found to have $10,500 on him and two mobile phones.
Subsequent analysis confirmed that the suspected dangerous drug was 245.95 grammes of a mixture containing 198.79 grammes of ketamine. The street value of the seized drug was $28,038.
The defendant’s background now. The defendant is a single, 30-year-old man. According to the antecedents statement, the defendant was educated to form 3 level and he used to work as a waiter and also at construction sites. At the time of the offence, he was unemployed. The defendant told the police that he started to abuse drugs when he was 18 years old but quit when he was 20. He also admitted that he had joined a triad society at the age of 18. His mother passed away when he was young and his father passed away in 2006. He has an elder sister who is married and lives apart.
The defendant is not a first offender. He has appeared in court previously on five occasions. His last appearance was in 2008. There were eight convictions altogether. Three were for possession of drugs and the last one was for trafficking in a dangerous drug. He was sentenced to 4 years and 2 months’ imprisonment for the last offence. I was informed that the defendant was released in November 2010, which means that the defendant committed the present offence within two months of his release.
Mr Bernard Yuen, mitigating on the defendant’s behalf frankly admitted that the only mitigating factor here is the defendant’s plea. Mr Yuen suggested a starting point of 8 years in accordance with the guidelines.
Offences involving dangerous drugs are serious, particularly when the trafficking of dangerous drug is involved. For the trafficking of ketamine, the Court of Appeal has set down the sentencing guidelines in the case of Hii Siew Cheng. The quantity of the ketamine involved in this case was 198.79 grammes which falls into the 50 to 300 grammes category. The appropriate starting point is within the range of 6 to 9 years.
The defendant is not a first offender and he committed the present offence shortly after he was released from gaol for the commission of a similar offence. He is therefore not entitled to a lower starting point as a first offender might get.
Having considered all the circumstances of the present case and the defendant’s background, I am of the view that a proper starting point is one of 8 years.
The defendant has offered a timely plea and I will give him the usual one-third discount. There are no other grounds to further reduce the sentence.
The defendant is therefore sentenced to 5 years 4 months for this offence of trafficking in a dangerous drug.