HKSAR v. Ata, Asaf

HCCC 348/2012

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 348 OF 2012

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Transcript of the Audio Recording

of the Sentence in the above Case

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COURT: The jury has convicted you of unlawful trafficking. For the amount of drugs involved, after taking into account everything urged on your behalf and bearing in mind that, since it is accepted by the prosecution that you are also a consumer of drugs, some of these drugs may well be for your own consumption, I sentence you to 6 years’ imprisonment for drug trafficking, that being the appropriate starting point and there being no mitigation to bring it down from that starting point. This sentence takes into account what I have said about some of the drugs being for your own consumption.

For the theft to which you have pleaded guilty, I take a starting point of 2 years and reduce it by a third for your guilty plea. So the sentence for theft is 16 months. I will make 1 year of the sentence consecutive to the 6 years’ imprisonment for trafficking. So the total sentence in the present case is 7 years. You are therefore sentenced to a total of 7 years’ imprisonment.

You are currently serving a term of imprisonment for 2 years. That sentence was passed on 24 October 2012. In view of all the circumstances, which circumstances include the help which you attempted to give the police even though they have felt unable to charge anybody on the strength of your information, and bearing in mind totality, I make the 7‑years term of imprisonment which I have passed on you today wholly concurrent to the sentence which you are now serving.