HKSAR v. Anyalechi Ugochukwu Gideon

HCCC 465/2014

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 465 OF 2014

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Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case
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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 21 May 2014 at the Hong Kong International Airport, Chek Lap Kok, you unlawfully trafficked in 1.17 kilogrammes of a solid containing 0.56 kilogrammes of the dangerous drug cocaine.

On 21 May you had arrived in Hong Kong on a flight inbound from Addis Ababa.

A personal and baggage search was conducted upon you and your baggage but proved negative. It was suspected that you had concealed drugs within your body. Thus you were sent to the hospital where examination confirmed the presence of foreign objects in your body.

Thereafter you were detained at the hospital and you subsequently discharged a total of 60 packets containing the drugs as stated in the charge.

The estimated retail value of the drugs at the time of seizure was HK$1,150,110.

In an interview under caution, you said that you had been promised your air tickets would be paid for and that you were coming to Hong Kong on a clothing business trip.

Defendant, you are now 35 years of age and are of clear record.

Although you hold a Nigerian passport, you were born in Cameroon. I am informed, you are still living in Cameroon. You have earned US$2,000 a month and are a businessman. You are married with a son and daughter aged 7 and 3 respectively. Your wife is living in the United States of America and works and studies as a nurse.

You were scheduled to join your family on 1 May 2014, however, you were arrested and charged with this present offence.

I am told by your counsel Mr Andrew Leung that you committed this offence as you were made promises by a rich businessman that you could be his manager of his toy company in the USA. You could also supply a hotel in Nigeria with all the bedding and garments. You foolishly succumbed to take this risk to transport these drugs to Hong Kong unlawfully as you were made these very grand promises.

You have, as clearly indicated, pleaded guilty at a very early stage before the magistrate. You have written a letter to me which I can see that you are remorseful for what you have done.

As a result of this offence, you well know that it will be a very long time before you are able to see your young family again.

Mr Leung asks me to impose a sentence as lenient as I am able to.

For the offence of trafficking in a dangerous drug of cocaine, the Court of Appeal in Hong Kong have laid down tariff sentences as guidelines to these courts to sentence on certain quantities of drug.

In this case, Defendant, you were trafficking in the drug cocaine. The relevant authority for that is The Queen v Lau Tak Ming. You had been trafficking in 560 grammes of cocaine. That falls within the fifth bracket on the guidelines, that is between 400 and 600 grammes, a sentence of between 15 to 20 years’ imprisonment is to be imposed as a starting point after trial.

Given the quantity that you were trafficking in, had you been convicted after trial, I would have taken a starting point of 19 years’ imprisonment.

Defendant, you were bringing the drugs into Hong Kong, this is an aggravating factor, and in accordance with HKSAR v Abdallah Anwar Abbas, that calls for an enhancement in sentence because of the international element of you bringing these drugs into Hong Kong.

So in respect of that starting point it should be enhanced. In the recent case of HKSAR v Chung Ping Kun CACC85/2014 the Court of Appeal there laid down broad guidelines for the level of enhancement, for the amount between 500 and 1,000 grammes, the court suggested an enhancement of between 1 to 2 years.

In respect of the international element, I enhance the starting point by 1 year to make the sentencing point 20 years’ imprisonment.

Defendant, you have pleaded guilty. As a result of which, you warrant a one-third discount on your sentence. And the resulting sentence to which you shall serve for this offence is reduced to one of 13 years and 4 months’ imprisonment.