HKSAR v. Man Wan Lung
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DCCC 1055/2012 IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION CRIMINAL CASE NO 1055 OF 2012 ----------------------
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--------------------- Reasons for Sentence --------------------- 1.The defendant pleaded guilty to a charge of trafficking in 48.02 grammes of ketamine. 2.On the evening of 4 September 2012, police officers were on duty in the vicinity of the Tin Yuet Estate In Tin Shui Wai, New Territories and they spotted the defendant acting suspiciously outside Room 3304 of Yuet Kwai House at about just after 8 pm. He was stopped and searched and in the right-hand side of the forefront of his waist they found a plastic box and inside the box there were 10 transparent resealable plastic bags containing the drugs, the subject of the charge. The defendant was very frank with the police and immediately under caution he said he was keeping the ketamine for a friend and would deliver it later for a reward of $500. The drugs were worth just in excess of $14,000. 3.The record of the defendant shows that in 2009 for smoking and injecting a dangerous drug he was placed on probation and in January 2010 for possession of a prohibited weapon and he was again placed on probation. 4.When he appeared before the court four weeks ago and pleaded guilty, I adjourned the case so that I could have the advantage of a background report. That confirmed the defendant was aged 18 and came from a broken family involving a cross-border marriage. It said that his mother had come to Hong Kong for a family reunion but was soon disillusioned by the relationship with her husband and the materialistic lifestyle in Hong Kong. She worked day and night to try and pay for her family commitments while the father of the family lived on welfare and lived in a Public Housing unit. It describes you as being totally neglected and you became a wild child and soon, at the age of 14, joined the Wo Shing Wo Triad Society. He was then placed on probation, as I have said, but that did not work out and his mother became increasingly desperate and depressed and again after probation the defendant drifted and became involved with undesirable peers and his drug problem started there. 5.I adjourned the case to assess if he was suitable for admission to a Training Centre, notwithstanding the quantity of drugs involved in this case. However, because the medical officer is of the opinion that he is drug-dependent, he was not considered suitable for admission to the Training Centre. 6.The court was left with very limited sentencing options. For possession of 48 grammes of ketamine the appropriate band of sentencing is between 4 and 6 years imprisonment. In this case would mean that the sentence should be nearer the 6 years imprisonment. However, given the age of the defendant, I have decided to take a lower starting point of 5 years imprisonment and reduce that by one-third to reflect his guilty plea. The sentence therefore will be reduced to 40 months’ imprisonment. If you behave well in prison, that will be reduced by a further third. 7.Whilst you in prison, you will have the opportunity of taking advantage of educational opportunities that will be available and I suggest you do that.
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