COURT: The 2nd defendant has pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, namely 400 grammes of ketamine by pure narcotic content.
The facts of the case were simple. He was stopped by the police on the street and was found to be in possession, in a bag that his girlfriend was carrying, of the drug in question. Under caution, he admitted to be couriering ketamine for others for quick money. He insisted that the matter had nothing to do with his girlfriend who was unaware of what was in the sealed packages.
The defendant is aged 20 years and 10 months as of now. He was born in Hong Kong. He left school after form 5 and a VTC programme in hospitality studies. He had had various jobs in the food industry but was unemployed at the time of the offence. He was single, living with his parents and has no previous convictions.
In mitigation, counsel submitted that the defendant was in debt, could not keep up with the repayments and made the unwise decision to be involved in the drug business. Counsel also submitted that the defendant was a filial son and is now remorseful. These, as counsel should know, are not real mitigating factors. I agree with counsel, though, that this is not an appropriate case for the enhancement of sentence under section 56A(1) and (2)(d). There is insufficient evidence to disprove that the defendant and his girlfriend were not on a pre-arranged date.
Given the quantity of the drug involved, the correct starting point is one of 10 years. Because of the guilty plea, that will be reduced by one-third to 6 years and 8 months. There being no other effective mitigating factor, that is the sentence I pass on the defendant.
He will go to prison for 6 years and 8 months.