Background and the Facts
The defendant pleaded guilty in the Eastern Magistrates’ Court to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap. 134. He was committed to this court for sentence. Before me, the defendant confirmed his plea and his acceptance of the Summary of Facts.
Briefly, the defendant was stopped and searched by the police on 27 June 2012 at the arrival hall of the Lok Ma Chau Control Point. At the time, nothing was found but internal concealment was suspected. The defendant was therefore taken to the North District Hospital where, on examination, two foreign objects were found present in his body.
Subsequently, the defendant discharged two packets of "Ice" which was a total of 91.04 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 88.74 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride. The drug had an estimated retail value of about HK$67,000.
When asked under caution and when later interviewed by the police, the defendant admitted that he was asked to go to the Mainland to take the drug to Hong Kong for a reward of HK$500. The defendant’s movement record shows that he departed Hong Kong in the morning of 27 June 2012 and returned that afternoon, when he was intercepted by the police.
Mitigation
The defendant is aged 33 and is divorced. He was educated up to Form 1 level. He had been unemployed since 2011. Prior to that, he had worked as a construction worker, earning, on average, a monthly wage of one thousand to two thousand Hong Kong dollars. On top of that, he also received Social Security in the amount of about HK$1,000. Out of that sum, he gave half to his mother.
The defendant has been before the court on 11 previous occasions with a total of 18 convictions. He was last discharged on 3 September 2010. Three of the defendant’s previous convictions were possession of a dangerous drug offences. One was smoking/injecting a dangerous drug. This is his first trafficking in a dangerous drug conviction.
In mitigation, it was said that the defendant only committed this offence as he wanted to earn some quick money. At the time, the defendant’s paternal grandfather was ill. The defendant met the person and accepted the offer to carry the drug which resulted in his arrest. Mr Chan submitted that the defendant pleaded guilty and he is now truly remorseful. A lenient sentence is sought.
The Sentence
The tariffs for trafficking in "Ice" were laid down in Attorney General v Ching Kwok Hung [1991] 2 HKLR 125 and corrected in HKSAR v Capitania, CACC 28/2004, 11 August 2004, unreported. For trafficking between 70 and 300 grammes of "Ice", a term of 10 to 14 years’ imprisonment is called for.
Having considered the amount of "Ice" involved and the facts of this case, I am going to adopt an initial starting point of 10 years and 3 months. However, as the defendant went to the Mainland to bring the drug into Hong Kong, I would make an upward adjustment of 6 months to reflect this international dimension. Thus, with the upward adjustment, the overall starting point is one of 10 years and 9 months.
The defendant pleaded guilty and he will receive a one-third reduction for that. In this case, other than his plea, there is nothing which would warrant any further reduction in sentence.
The defendant is therefore to serve a term of 86 months’ imprisonment for this offence.