COURT: The defendant has pleaded guilty in the Magistrates Court to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, namely 0.24 of a kilogram of a powder containing 0.18 of a kilogram of ketamine.
The defendant was intercepted by police as he was leaving his home with three friends and, in his hand, he was carrying a pink paper bag inside of which contained 18 plastic bags of the ketamine which is the subject matter of the charge.
He was arrested and cautioned and the defendant admitted that all the ketamine belonged to him. He was also found in possession of cash HK$10,000.
In the defendant’s bedroom were found packaging paraphernalia, an electronic scale, calculator, a pair of scissors and a bag containing transparent resealable plastic bags. So it is clear that not only was he a courier, he was also packaging drugs.
The defendant was interviewed on video and he admitted that he had a habit of taking ketamine and he brought along the ketamine on that occasion because he was going to meet up with some friends and they had a habit of taking ketamine.
The total retail value of those drugs was estimated to be about HK$30,240.
The defendant is aged 29 and has a very poor criminal record. He has 17 criminal convictions. In mitigation, he claimed that he was being a dutiful son and he was trying to raise quick money in order to provide medical expenses for his father.
Having a look at his record, it is clear that the defendant has not been a dutiful son since 1994. Although the only similar conviction was last year for possession of dangerous drugs for which he was fined, since 1994, he had committed a series of thefts and burglaries and resisting and assaulting police officers, possession of forged identity card, etc.
This court is sad, sad for his parents because they have had to endure all these years of supporting a son who did not appreciate their love. And to this day, his father, despite the illness he has, still came to court this morning to support this errant son. This court has the greatest sympathy with the defendant’s father and his family. This court has no sympathy for the defendant.
Trafficking in dangerous drugs is a very serious offence because, by his participation in this trade, he will be affecting many, many families, causing tragic circumstances to those families. He has been very lucky to have been provided with a nice home by his father, in a nice place in Tseung Kwan O. He has a father who never gave up on you despite these years of transgressions.
The Court of Appeal has recognised that trafficking in ketamine is a serious offence and has laid down guidelines in 2008 in the case of Hii Siew Cheng. It was recommended that for trafficking in between 50 to 300 grammes of ketamine, a term of imprisonment of 6 to 9 years as a starting point is recommended.
In this case, he had in his possession 180 grammes which would merit a starting point sentence of about 8 years. I see no reason why I should not adopt the starting point of 8 years and give him the full one-third discount because of his plea and reduce the sentence to 5 years and 4 months.