HKSAR v. Chen Qianxia

HCCC 188/2012

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 188 OF 2012

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Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case

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COURT: Defendant, you have been convicted after trial by the jury of an offence of trafficking in 27.46 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 26.27 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap. 134, Laws of Hong Kong.

The circumstances of the offence as found by the jury are, quite simply, that at about 11 o'clock on the night of 3 November of 2011, you were stopped by the police in Ming Kum Road in Tuen Mun and the drugs being the subject matter of the charge were found in a chocolate box inside a white plastic bag which you held in your left hand. The drugs have a street value of nearly HK$17,000.

You are 34 years of age, a mobile phone repair worker, and are married. You do have one previous conviction in 2009 for trafficking in dangerous drugs when you received a 16-month sentence of imprisonment. In addition to that, you have three previous convictions for possession of dangerous drugs, the most recent two being in 2010 when you were sent to the Drug Addiction Treatment Centre.

The sentencing guidelines for trafficking in between 10 to 70 grammes of "Ice" can be found in Attorney General v Ching Kwok Hung [1991] 2 HKLR 125 and range between 7 to 10 years’ imprisonment. Bearing in mind the quantity of narcotic involved in the present case is just over 26 grammes, I propose to adopt a starting point of 7½ years’ imprisonment.

There is really no mitigation that has been put before me to allow any reduction of that starting point. Accordingly, I sentence you to 7½ years’ imprisonment.

Please refer to CACC57/2013 for the relevant appeal(s) to the Court of Appeal.