HKSAR v. Aguma Dennis

HCCC 484/2014

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 484 OF 2014

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Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case
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COURT: The defendant has been convicted on his own plea of one charge of trafficking in dangerous drugs. The Particulars of Offence provide that on 24th day of April 2014 at the Hong Kong International Airport, Chek Lap Kok, Lantau Island in Hong Kong, the defendant unlawfully trafficked in dangerous drugs, namely 1,018.46 grammes of a mixture containing 447.32 grammes of heroin hydrochloride and 95.44 grammes of cocaine.

The Summary of Facts which has been admitted by the defendant provides, inter alia, as follows:

(1) On 24 April 2014, the defendant, a 37-year old Ugandan male, arrived at the Hong Kong International Airport on a flight from Uganda via Doha, Qatar. He was intercepted for Customs clearance at the Customs Arrival Hall.

(2) He was sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital as internal concealment was suspected. At the hospital, an examination confirmed the presence of foreign objects in his body.

(3) He discharged a total of 69 packets of suspected dangerous drugs. He was cautioned, after which he said that he had nothing to say.

(4) The suspected dangerous drugs were subsequently confirmed to be a total of 1,018.46 grammes of a mixture containing 447.32 grammes of heroin hydrochloride and 95.44 grammes of cocaine.

(5) A record of interview was conducted. Under caution, the defendant said that he came to Hong Kong from Uganda for his clothing business. In Uganda, a male who knew the defendant was in need of money for his daughter’s heart operation approached him and asked him to carry something to China. The defendant did not know the number of pellets that he had swallowed, he did not count. He would receive a reward of US$6,000 for bringing the pellets to China.

(6) In April 2014 the dangerous drugs seized in this case had an estimated retail value of HK$398,937.92.

By way of personal background, the defendant is now 38 years old. He is married, having six children aged from 6 months to 8 years old. He claims to have a university degree at the Victoria University in Uganda in 2004. He was a businessman at the time of arrest. He has two criminal convictions recorded in Hong Kong which are not related to dangerous drugs offences.

In mitigation, Mr Trevor Beel submitted on the defendant’s behalf his tragic personal circumstances, including the fact that his second youngest daughter suffered a heart condition requiring operation which prompted the defendant to become involved in drug trafficking. Mr Beel, however, realistically accepts that personal circumstances of the defendant offers little mitigation in drug trafficking offences.

The narcotic content of the dangerous drugs involved in this case in is 447.32 grammes of heroin hydrochloride and 95.44 grammes of cocaine. In the absence of any evidence before me that a mixture of heroin and cocaine would give rise to an enhanced effect or extra harm when compared with the individual drugs, I would simply adopt the combined quantity for the purpose of setting a starting point for sentence. Sentencing for trafficking in cocaine is aligned to the guidelines for trafficking in heroin contained in R v Lau Tak Ming [1990] 2 HKLR 370.

In the present case, the combined quantity of heroin hydrochloride and cocaine is 542.76 grammes. According to the Lau Tak Ming case, for trafficking in between 400 grammes and 600 grammes of heroin, the proper sentence to be imposed after trial should be 15 to 20 years’ imprisonment.

In my view, following the guidelines in the Lau Tak Ming case and based on the quantity of the narcotics involved, the proper starting point for sentence should be 18 and a half years’ imprisonment. This should be enhanced by one year for the international element in the present case, see: HKSAR v Chung Ping Kun, CACC 85/2014 (Judgment of the Court of Appeal dated 2/07/2014), paragraph 9.

I will give the defendant the full one-third discount for his guilty plea.

Defendant, please stand up.

The defendant is accordingly sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment.