COURT: Defendant, you were convicted upon your guilty plea of one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug. In sentencing, I have considered the whole circumstances of the case, including its nature and facts, in particular the type and quantity of the dangerous drug involved, your background and mitigation put forward on your behalf.
The facts of the case may be summarised as follows. On 2 February 2012, you were stopped by police officers when you were walking out from the building where you lived. Upon search of a white plastic bag which you dropped onto the ground, two plastic bags and a paper box were found inside. Inside the box were 18 plastic bags. You were then arrested for the offence of trafficking in a dangerous drug. Under caution, you said: “The 'K Chai' is mine. I make money by selling it”.
Then you were taken back to a flat in the building. Entry was gained with a key found on you. Inside the room, items such as a sieve, electronic scale, plastic spoon and a wad of resealable plastic bags were found. You said, under caution, that the packaging paraphernalia was yours.
Subsequently, you were interviewed at the police station. You said a man called Ah Ming gave you a plastic bag containing ketamine and packaging paraphernalia and asked you to repackage the ketamine in smaller packets. You were to wait for further instruction from this man. At the time you were stopped, you were going out for a meal, carrying the drug with you. Instruction had yet to be received from Ah Ming. You were to receive $3,000 as reward for delivery of the drug.
The drug you trafficked in was contained in the plastic bag you dropped onto the ground. There was a total of 265.49 grammes of a powder containing 210.53 grammes of ketamine.
I was told that you are now 30 years of age. You are married and have two young daughters, 5 and 2 years old respectively. Upon your completion of secondary education in the United States, you returned to Hong Kong to work. You had worked as a salesman and a waiter. In 2006, you started your embroidery business with your savings and contribution from your parents. The business failed and closed down in 2009. You lost the whole of $600,000 you invested in the business.
Miss See, your counsel, told me that you did not give up and had started a new business in wine selling and also as a wedding planner. You have pursued study in the latter field and was recognised as a certified professional wedding planner.
You are not a first-time offender. In the year of 2000, you were convicted of one charge of possession of dangerous drugs and one charge of possession of Part I poison. For these offences, a probation order was imposed on you. In 2001, for breach of the probation order, you were sent to DATC for treatment. The other time you were convicted was in 2006. The offences involved were taking conveyance without authority, driving without a licence and using a motor vehicle on a road without third party risk insurance. You have never committed the offence of trafficking in a dangerous drug before.
Your counsel provided me with a bundle in support of your mitigation. The bundle contains letters you wrote to the court and your family, and letters from your family members and friends, as well as documents in relation to your business and studies. She urged me to accept that you committed the offence as a result of momentary succumbing to financial temptation and are now fully remorseful.
Upon your arrest, you were co-operative with the police and gave a detailed account of why and how you committed the offence. You hold a positive attitude towards the future and have pursued studies with good results during your remand.
The dangerous drug you trafficked in was ketamine. The total narcotic content was 210.53 grammes. The Court of Appeal suggested, in the case Secretary for Justice v Hii Siew Cheng [2009] 1 HKLRD 1, that a sentence of 6 to 9 years’ imprisonment should be considered for trafficking in ketamine if the narcotic content is 50 to 300 grammes. In my judgment, a starting point of 7 years and 9 months is appropriate and sufficient for this charge.
You are entitled to a one-third discount for your guilty plea. Having heard what your counsel said on your behalf, I am prepared to give you some further discount.
By reason of the matters aforesaid, I sentence you to a total imprisonment term of 5 years.