HKSAR v. Tsang Koon Lap

CAC C 464/2011

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF APPEAL

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 464 OF 2011

(ON APPEAL FROM HCCC NO. 316 OF 2011)

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BETWEEN

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Before: Hon Stock VP, Lunn JA and Macrae J in Court

Date of Hearing: 24 July 2012

Date of Judgment: 24 July 2012

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J U D G M E N T

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Hon Stock VP (giving the judgment of the Court):

1.On 26 August 2011 the applicant pleaded guilty before a magistrate to one count of trafficking in dangerous drugs, namely, that on 18 April 2011 he trafficked in 1.47 kg of powder containing 1.13 kg of ketamine. He was committed to the Court of First Instance for sentence and on 19 October 2011 he was sentenced by Bokhary J to a term of 10 years 5 months’ imprisonment. He now seeks leave to appeal the sentence.

2.As to the facts, he was intercepted at the arrival hall of Lo Wu Control Point and searched and six plastic bags with ketamine were found inside his shoulder bag.  He was bringing the drugs in from the Mainland because, he said, he needed money and was to be rewarded $3,000; he needed the money because his girlfriend’s mother was sick.

3.With reference to the guidelines in Secretary for Justice v Hii Siew Cheng [2008] 3 HKC 323, the judge adopted a starting point of 14 years 8 months’ imprisonment and added one year for the aggravating feature that the drugs were imported into this jurisdiction: and from the resulting figure of 15 years 8 months’ imprisonment, she deducted one-third to give effect to the applicant’s plea of guilty – hence 10 years 5 months’ imprisonment.

4.The applicant is aged 50 years and is a person of no previous convictions.  Not surprisingly, he prays in aid his previous good character; the fact of his early plea; the fact that he was a security guard for many years in respect of which work he secured an award and he further prays in aid the financial circumstances which he says caused him to commit the offence.

5.With some categories of offence, the fact of a first offence at the age of 50 years combined with evidence of positive good character would count so that a sentence for such a person might well be less than for a person with previous convictions.  But the courts in this jurisdiction have for long taken a stringent and unyielding approach to drug trafficking, given the awful effect that that activity brings to bear upon the society.

6.There is no basis upon which we can legitimately interfere with the sentence imposed and the application is accordingly dismissed.

Mr Tam Sze Lok, ADPP, of the Department of Justice, for the Respondent

Applicant – acting in person