HKSAR v. Lau Kwong Sang

HCCC 394/2012

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 394 OF 2012

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

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COURT: The defendant has pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, namely 46.20 grammes of a mixture containing 35.52 grammes of heroin hydrochloride.

According to his criminal record he was born in July 1949, which makes him about 63 years old.

According to the Admitted Facts, when police searched his home, found in the pocket of a windbreaker hanging inside a wardrobe in his living room were the drugs packaged in 180 packets in the pocket of that windbreaker.

The defendant was arrested for trafficking in a dangerous drug and the defendant under caution admitted that he had bought these drugs in December 2011 for $38,000. At that time he claimed they were for his own consumption.

These drugs had a street value of about $36,220.

The defendant has a criminal record in Hong Kong and, most importantly, there was nothing similar in the past. The most serious was in 2008 and 2009 when he was sent to prison for a few months for managing a vice establishment.

The defendant is, I am told, single and it was as a result of a back injury that he had sustained that is why he committed the offences of managing a vice establishment. I am told that the defendant suffers from asthma, rheumatism and also sleep apnoea.

In mitigation, Mr Boey Chung submitted on his behalf a letter from Father John Weatherspoon, saying that the defendant because of his sleep apnoea had fallen down recently and had to be admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment. I am sure that he will receive the appropriate care whilst in prison.

The Court of Appeal has laid down guidelines for trafficking in heroin and in the case of Lau Tak Ming [1990] HKLR 370 it was suggested that for trafficking in between 10 to 50 grammes of heroin hydrochloride a sentence of 5 to 8 years as a starting point would be appropriate.

Having looked at all the circumstances of the case, the defendant’s background, I consider that a starting point of 6½ years is appropriate in this case.

Giving the defendant the full one-third discount, the sentence is therefore reduced to one of 4 years and 4 months, so the defendant will go to prison for that length.