COURT: The defendant had pleaded guilty in the Magistrates Court to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, namely 323.11 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 309.18 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride.
The facts are getting a little too common in Hong Kong. The defendant crossed the border at the Lo Wu Border Control Point and, when searched, in his bag was found the drugs, in plastic bags, which is the subject matter of the charge.
Subsequently, when interviewed under caution, the defendant admitted that he was bringing the "Ice" to Hong Kong for a reward of renminbi 6,000. He had obtained the drugs from his friend, whom he had met at the aptly named 999 Hotel in Shenzhen. The street value of the drugs is estimated at about $231,346.
Immigration records show that the defendant left Hong Kong for China in the morning of 6 November and returned the evening of 7 November.
The defendant is aged 49 and has seven previous convictions, five of which were to do with possession of dangerous drugs and one to do with trafficking in a dangerous drug. The defendant had been sent to DATC in 2001 and 2009, so it is obvious that he had been given chance after chance to be a better person but he did not take the chances offered to him.
For the trafficking in methamphetamine hydrochloride, guidelines have been laid down in the case of Ching Kwok Hung, where the Court of Appeal said that trafficking in between 300 to 600 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride would merit a sentence of 14 to 18 years’ imprisonment.
As Mr Chiu correctly pointed out, the aggravating factor in this case is the fact that the defendant imported it from China. The only mitigating factor in this case is the fact that the defendant has pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.
So taking into account everything that has been said, I consider that an appropriate sentence, as a starting point, would be 14 years’ imprisonment. I will add on 1 year for the importation factor, therefore making a starting point total of 15 years. I will give the defendant a full one-third discount, reducing the sentence to 10 years.