HKSAR v. Wong Kam Chuen
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DCCC 285/2014 IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION CRIMINAL CASE NO. 285 OF 2014 -----------------------------------
---------------------------- 1.The defendant pleaded guilty to one charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to s.4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap.134. Particulars of the charge are that he on 22 January 2014 unlawfully trafficked 124.05g of a powder containing 71.49g of ketamine at the staircase of 1st floor, no.79-81 Ho Pui Street in Tsuen Wan. Summary of facts 2.The defendant was intercepted by Police officers at around 4:10pm on 22 January 2014 at the charge location. Upon search, a plastic bag containing 9 transparent re-sealable plastic bags, each containing suspected dangerous drugs were found in the right front pocket of the defendant’s jacket. 3.The defendant was arrested and said under caution that he bought the ketamine for self-consumption. In the subsequent video recorded interview, the defendant repeated his self-consumption claim. He said he bought the ketamine at around 3:45pm that day inside a public toilet in Tak Wah Park from an unknown male for $5,000. 4.Upon analysis, the narcotic content of the substances found on the defendant was confirmed to contain 71.49g of ketamine, the street value being about $8,721.78. 5.The defendant admitted to the last paragraph of the summary of facts, which states that he possessed the ketamine for the purpose of trafficking at the material time. Previous convictions 6.The defendant has 4 previous convictions, all for possession of dangerous drugs. His latest 2 convictions are both dated 30 June 2011 when he was sentenced to the Drug Addiction Treatment Centre. Mitigation 7.The defendant is 28, born in Hong Kong, single and living alone. He has an elder brother and his parents are both over 60. Prior to the arrest, the defendant was working as a cook earning about $15,000 per month. 8.Mr. Yip for the defendant referred to the case of Hii Siew Cheng (see below) and suggested a starting point of 6 years and 3 months’ imprisonment. Sentencing guidelines 9.According to the sentencing guidelines set down in the case of HKSAR v Hii Siew Cheng (許守城), CAAR 7/2006 & CACC 126/2007, the starting point for trafficking between 50 to 300 grammes of ketamine is that of 6 to 9 years’ imprisonment after trial. Sentence 10.The maximum sentence for trafficking in dangerous drugs upon conviction on indictment is a fine of $5,000,000 and imprisonment for life. 11.Having heard from Mr. Yip in mitigation, I find that there is nothing to allow me to depart from the sentencing tariffs. As Mr. Yip rightly pointed out, the strongest, if not the only, mitigating factor is the defendant’s guilty plea. I however do not take the defendant’s previous possession of dangerous drugs convictions as an aggravating factor. They are offences of a different nature and the last convictions are almost 3 years ago. 12.Applying the guidelines, for 71.49g of ketamine, I agree with Mr. Yip’s submission and will adopt a starting point of 75 months’ imprisonment. Granting the defendant the full one-third discount for his guilty plea, the defendant is sentenced to 50 months’ imprisonment.
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Cases cited in this judgment