COURT: On 19 July 2013 at Eastern Magistrates’ Courts, the defendant pleaded guilty to the charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug, namely 1.97 kilogrammes of a powder containing 1.64 kilogrammes of ketamine, and admitted the Summary of Facts.
On 18 February this year, the defendant, aged 67, was on board a seven-seater private car which was entering Hong Kong via the Lok Ma Chau Boundary Control Point. There were other passengers in the vehicle. The driver was directed to park the vehicle at the Customs Inbound Cargo Examination Building for inspection. After the defendant had got off the vehicle, Hong Kong Customs officers found on the floor of the defendant’s seat a green bag containing 8 plastic bags of suspected ketamine which were later found to contain 1.97 kilogrammes of a powder containing 1.64 kilogrammes of ketamine.
Under caution, the defendant admitted that the “K Chai” belonged to him. He stated that Kwong Chai rang him the previous day asking him to wait for him at Shenzhen railway station and he would be given “2 kg”. He said he collected the dangerous drug, went to Huanggang Control Point and took
a cross-border seven-seater vehicle, intending to go to the Hong Kong International Airport to see a friend. He claimed that the “K Chai” was for his own consumption.
In a later video-recorded interview, the defendant further said that he knew the bag contained “K Chai” which is a kind of dangerous drug. He would buy large quantity whenever it was cheap. The quantity seized would support his consumption for about two months. He collected the drugs from a male he named as Kong. He had known Kong for several months and Kong said he did not need to pay for it. He would only pay for it after he had tried it and found its quality good. He had no means of contacting Kong. He believed the ketamine was worth about HK$100,000. He intended to take the drug to Hong Kong International Airport to see a friend and to have a cup of tea.
The defendant now admits that he had knowingly brought the ketamine into Hong Kong and that he possessed all the ketamine for the purpose of trafficking. The estimated street value of the drug seized is HK$242,000.
I am informed by defence counsel that the defendant is suffering from a number of health problems, including the possibility of cancer. He has a daughter who has passed away in 2010 and another daughter living in Singapore.
Sentence
You have committed many offences before, but I will not punish you again for your past record. You brought the drug into Hong Kong. This is an aggravating factor. The sentencing guidelines for ketamine are set out in the case of SJ v Hii Siew Cheng [2009] 1 HKLRD 1. The tariff set out in that case is that for over 1,000 grammes of ketamine the sentence should be 14 years upwards.
In the case of HKSAR v Sin Chun Kin & Another CACC458/2011 (reported in [2013] 1 HKLRD 627) the Court of Appeal said that for trafficking in 2,000 grammes and 3,000 grammes of ketamine, the appropriate starting points should respectively be no less than 18 years and 20 years. Defence counsel also referred me to the sentencing case of HKSAR v Fong Yuen Yee HCCC276/2012 where the circumstances are similar.
In this case the narcotic content is 1.64 kilogrammes. In all the circumstances of this case, I shall take 15 and a half years as the starting point. The only mitigating factor in this case is your early plea, for which I will give you full credit.
The sentence on you is one of 10 years and 4 months.