CRIMINAL CASE NO. 292 OF 2012
COURT: The defendant has pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, namely 55.56 grammes of a mixture containing 46.24 grammes of heroin hydrochloride.
On 26 April this year, the defendant left Hong Kong for Mainland China at 2.43 pm and returned to Hong Kong at just shortly after 4 pm. He was seen by police officers, acting suspiciously, upon arrival at the border control area in Lo Wu and he was followed until the Sheung Shui MTR Station, when he was approached by the police officers. He was taken to the North District Hospital and subsequently excreted the drugs which is the subject matter of the charge.
Under caution, he said that he had liver cancer and wanted to earn $2,000 as a reward for carrying the drugs. He said he was given the drugs in Shenzhen to take to Hong Kong and give to a man in Yau Ma Tei. The estimated street value of the drugs, retail, is about HK$51,084.
The defendant is aged 56 and he has a criminal record showing 14 previous convictions, with his last conviction in 2001. In the 1990s, he had about seven convictions to do with drugs.
Mr Tse produced a medical report to show that the defendant has been suffering from liver cirrhosis for the past 10 years. This, no doubt, has something to do with his drug-taking in the past. The defendant has been on public assistance for some time. According to Mr Tse, he was tempted to commit the present offence because he wanted to use the money to buy a gift for his elder son as a wedding present.
In mitigation on his behalf by Mr Tse, Mr Tse has said everything he could possibly say on behalf of the defendant. There is no doubt in my mind that the defendant is a very lucky man because he has still got the love of his son and his present wife. So the defendant has only himself to blame for putting himself in this predicament.
The eldest son of the defendant has written a very heartfelt letter to this court to plead for leniency on his behalf. However, this court has to weigh in the balance the harm that the drugs will cause to other families in Hong Kong should the drugs be successfully transported and dispersed in Hong Kong society. Many young people in Hong Kong, many men with families, will be destroyed because of these drugs.
The court has laid down guidelines for sentencing in trafficking in dangerous drugs in the case of Lau Tak Ming [1990] HKLR 370, that for trafficking in 10 to 50 grammes of heroin will merit a sentence of 5 to 8 years’ imprisonment after trial.
In this case, the defendant had trafficked in 46.24 grammes of heroin hydrochloride and I consider that a reasonable starting point will be 7½ years’ imprisonment. Because the defendant has pleaded guilty, he is entitled to a one-third discount, so the sentence is reduced to one of 5 years’ imprisonment.