COURT: Defendant, you have pleaded guilty to a charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance.
You have admitted that on 27 April 2013, at the Customs Arrival Hall, Lok Ma Chau Control Point, you unlawfully trafficked in a total of 250.12 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 242.73 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride.
On that day in question, at about 8.30 pm, you came to Hong Kong from China, carrying a plastic bag containing nine packets of the drug commonly known as "Ice". The estimated street value of the drugs was HK$190,591. On that day, the Immigration records show that you left Hong Kong at 1839 and returned at 2034 hours.
Your counsel, Mr Boey Chung, has mitigated fully and thoroughly on your behalf and I have taken into account all that he has had to say.
You are 42 years of age, single and have been married twice. You have 27 previous convictions on 18 separate court appearances. You have three previous convictions for possession of dangerous drugs and one previous similar for trafficking in dangerous drugs in the year 2000.
Mr Boey Chung informed me that that conviction, for which you were sentenced to 2 months’ imprisonment, involved only one tablet of midazolam. He has submitted that although it is a similar conviction, it is, on the face of it, a relatively minor one of the same nature.
For trafficking in this quantity of "Ice", the case of Attorney General v Ching Kwok Hung is appropriate. The amount of drugs which you were trafficking falls within the third bracket, that is between 70 and 300 grammes, which warrants a term of imprisonment after trial of between 10 to 14 years’ imprisonment.
Although you have one previous conviction, I take into account that it was committed a long time ago now, some 13 years ago in those circumstances I shall not take that into account as an aggravating factor for enhancement. There is, however, an aggravating factor in this case in that you were bringing the drugs into Hong Kong from China. This is a cross-border trafficking. In those circumstances, this is an aggravating feature for which an enhancement of the starting point is appropriate.
Defendant, for the quantity of drugs which you were trafficking in, I take a starting point, had I convicted you after trial, of 12 years and 6 months’ imprisonment. For the aggravating feature of cross-border trafficking, I enhance that starting point by a further 6 months, making the sentencing point 13 years’ imprisonment.
Giving you full credit for your plea of guilty, that term shall be reduced by one-third and you shall be sentenced to 8 years and 8 months’ imprisonment.