CRIMINAL CASE NO. 45 OF 2012
COURT: The defendant has pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, namely 0.23 kilogrammes of a crystalline solid containing 0.23 kilogrammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride.
The facts reveal that the defendant was intercepted by police in a building in Tai Kok Tsui, and in his hand was a bag containing the dangerous drugs in the charge.
The defendant was arrested, and under caution he said that he was helping someone bring it to another, and he said that he had been told to pick up this plastic bag and then to deliver it as instructed by someone called “B Chai”, and he was to receive $500 for it.
The street value of the drugs was $142,730.
The defendant is aged 20 and has a clear record.
It is a sad fact that in Hong Kong the drug traffickers commonly use young men like the defendant who, out of greed and for easy money, agree to participate in the delivery of drugs.
The Government of Hong Kong has tried very hard to educate the young people in Hong Kong by advertisements in television, radio, newspapers and magazines about the danger of drugs and participation in drug activities, but unfortunately the lure of easy money has proven time and time again to lead these youths into temptation.
It is sad for the court in this case to sentence this young man to a long term of imprisonment. I appreciate that the defendant has a clear record up to now, and I appreciate that he has had a sad background and that it will be a very, very tragic blow for his mother to have to visit her dear son in prison.
However, the defendant should realise that he is a lucky person compared to other youths because he has still got a mother who loves him. His mother never abandoned him or gave up on him. So I do hope in earnest that the defendant will use his time in prison to learn a skill out of which, when he leaves prison, he will be able to fulfil his wish to take care of his mother.
This world is filled with successful men who have had some form of transgression with the law when they were young. It is all right to fall down as long as you have the motivation to pick yourself up.
I am moved by the letters written by the defendant’s mother and by the defendant himself. However, the courts have laid down very severe sentences for drug trafficking because we have to protect the interests of the rest of Hong Kong people and their children from drugs.
Methamphetamine hydrochloride is a poison, and it continues to be disseminated in our places of entertainment where our young people go to, and that is why, even though the Bench may have sympathy with a particular defendant, a severe sentence has to be given in order to deter others from indulging in this kind of activity, because for this amount of drugs, the harm that would be caused to other families is beyond belief.
In the case of Ching Kwok Hung, the Court of Appeal has laid down recommended guidelines for trafficking in methamphetamine hydrochloride. For trafficking in between 70 grammes to 300 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride, the recommended sentence is between 10 to 14 years’ imprisonment.
In this case, the amount is 230 grammes, and so the sentence would be in the range of 12½ to 13 years. I would take the lower of that range of 12½ years, and because the defendant has pleaded guilty, he is entitled to the full one‑third discount.
The defendant is sentenced to 8 years and 4 months.