COURT: The defendant pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity in the Magistrates Court to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, namely 13 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 12.42 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride.
Police officers on the material day executed a search warrant at the defendant’s home and, in the defendant’s bedroom, inside a drawer, were found the drugs, the subject matter of the charge and some transparent resealable plastic bags and an inhaling device for consuming "Ice". After being cautioned, the defendant admitted that the "Ice" belonged to him and that he would consume some and sell some.
In a subsequently recorded video-recorded interview, the defendant said he had bought the "Ice" in a park on the day of his arrest for about HK$3,500. The defendant confirmed that the resealable plastic bags found in his home were for packaging the "Ice" for selling to others. He said he obtained money from his sons and daughters every month and he would use that money to buy "Ice".
The estimated retail value in Hong Kong of the drugs found were in the region of HK$9,542.
The defendant is aged 58 and has a total of 12 previous convictions, eight of which are drug-related. Of those eight drug-related offences, one was for conspiracy to traffic in the year 2001 when he was sentenced to 5 years and 4 months’ imprisonment, and one is for trafficking in dangerous drugs in 2006 when he was also sentenced to over 4 years in total in prison. He was released from prison in 2008 and committed this present offence in 2013, February.
In mitigation, Mr Jim has said everything he could possibly say on behalf of the defendant. The only mitigating factor in this case is really the defendant’s early plea.
The guideline has been laid down for trafficking in "Ice" in the case of The Attorney General v Ching Kwok Hung [1991] 2 HKLR 125. The Court of Appeal recommended that for trafficking in between 10 to 70 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride, the suggested sentence is 7 to 10 years’ imprisonment after trial.
In this case, the amount is 12.42 grammes and I consider that a starting point of 7 to 7½ years would be appropriate. I take into account the fact that the defendant has a poor record and I will increase that starting point to 8 years.
However, I do also take into account the fact that the defendant has claimed that some of the drugs found were for his own consumption. There appears to be some evidence of that because an "Ice"-consuming device was also found in his room. So taking that into account, I reduce the starting point to 6½ years. Giving the defendant the benefit of the one-third discount because of his early plea, the sentence is therefore reduced by one-third to 4 years and 4 months.
The defendant is sentenced to 4 years and 4 months’ imprisonment.