HKSAR v. Liu Chi Shing
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HCCC 121/2015 IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE CRIMINAL CASE NO 121 OF 2015 -----------------
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--------------------------------- Transcript of the Audio Recording --------------------------------- 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 15 July 2014, at Man Fat Street, Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon, you unlawfully trafficked in 236.71 grammes of a solid containing 95.56 grammes of cocaine. On the day in question, some police officers of the Criminal Intelligence Bureau mounted an anti-narcotics operation in the vicinity. They observed you walking outside the Department of Health Clinical Genetic Service Centre at Man Fat Street. It was about just after 9 pm that night. At that time you were carrying a black plastic bag in your hand. When you reached the underneath of the air‑conditioning unit mounted on the wall, you reached up towards it. As the officers thought you were acting furtively, they then intercepted you. An officer retrieved from the air-conditioner unit three plastic bags which were later confirmed to contain cocaine. A search of the plastic bag you carried also led to the seizure of seven plastic bags later confirmed to contain cocaine. The amount of drugs found in these 10 plastic bags is the amount as set out in the charge. You were arrested and cautioned for the offence of trafficking in dangerous drugs. Your reply was “Ah Sir, I am very miserable. I suffer from renal disease, and my CSSA payment has stopped. As I have no money for food, then I help people deliver cocaine to others.” In a subsequent interview under caution, you said that a male named “Ah Lok” was in fact the person who had given you these drugs and asked you to deliver them to others for a payment of $2,000. You however did not know the exact amount of drugs that you were delivering. You decided to conceal the three packets of dangerous drugs from the black plastic bag in the air-conditioning unit, as you were worried about keeping all the dangerous drugs. The street value of the dangerous drugs was estimated to be $248,309. Your counsel, Ms Olivia Tsang, has made very full mitigation on your behalf, taking me through in particular detail the ill health that you have suffered since the age of 6. You are now aged 30, have seven previous convictions, one related to drugs which was in 2007 for an offence of possession of dangerous drugs. You were sentenced to 2 weeks’ imprisonment for that offence. I am informed, and it is supported by a Correctional Services Department medical report, that you suffer from Thalassemia, have renal failure, and require blood dialysis regular follow‑up at least twice a week. As to your general background, your mother passed away when you were in Form 5, and you did not have a good relationship with your father. Since the age of 16 you moved out of home, and from that time, your life has spiralled down in view of your bad health. At the time of commission of this offence you were living with friends and did not have a fixed place of abode. In 2009, you were married, but never lived together with your wife, but nevertheless had two sons, who are now aged 5 and 2. You were divorced in 2015. I am informed that the reason why you committed this offence was because you had not applied to renew your disability allowance as you had forgotten to get the certificate. As you had no money to live and as you met “Ah Lok”, he introduced you to traffic in these drugs in return for quick money. As Ms Tsang rightly points out, you realise that this was a very wrong thing to do and stupid thing to do to sustain your basic living. I am certainly very sympathetic to your ill health and the predicaments that you have had to live with since a young age. However, this offence is a very serious offence, and those mitigating factors carry no particular weight at all. I see that you are getting regular treatment now whilst you have been remanded at Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre, and your general condition remains stable and satisfactory. There are strict guidelines in trafficking in the dangerous drug cocaine. Those guidelines are laid down in the case of R v Lau Tak Ming. There are no mitigating factors such that enable me to depart from those guidelines. Defendant, for the amount of cocaine, that you were trafficking in, and following the guidelines, had you been convicted after trial, I would have taken a starting point of 9 years’ imprisonment. Giving you full credit for your plea of guilty, that term shall be reduced to one of 6 years’ imprisonment, which you shall so serve. |