HKSAR v. Wo King Lun, Chris

HCCC 521/2013

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 521 OF 2013

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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 single offence of trafficking in dangerous drugs, namely, 997.98 grammes of powder containing 814.2 grammes of ketamine.

Briefly, the facts are as follows. At about 1835 hours on 6 May 2013, a Customs officer spotted you and a female acting suspiciously inside a car parked at Yau Mei Court Car Park, Yau Tong, Kowloon. You were sat at the driver’s seat. You were intercepted and searched. Inside the vehicle, the following things were found:

(a) In the front passenger seat door, an open aluminium foil bag containing eight packets of powder. This was later found to be 100 grammes of powder containing 80 grammes of ketamine.

(b) From the dashboard in front of the passenger seat, one packet of powder later found to be 17.98 grammes of powder containing 14.2 grammes of ketamine. Also at that location there were Ziploc bags, scissors and electronic scales.

(c) A pink cosmetics bag was found on the floor between the front passenger seat and handbrake. This contained 20 packets of powder. Subsequent analysis showed this to be 160 grammes of powder containing 120 grammes of ketamine.

(d) A black bag on the floor in front of the passenger seat, containing three foil packets of powder. These were later found to contain 720 grammes of powder containing 600 grammes of ketamine.

The total amount of ketamine found in the vehicle was 814.2 grammes.

Under caution, you said the packets of 'K Chai' belonged to you.

The street value of all dangerous drugs was about $125,745.48.

You admit the facts in respect of the 2nd charge of trafficking in dangerous drugs. On the basis of your own plea and this admission, I convict you.

You admit nine previous convictions, five being related to dangerous drugs, one relating to Part I poisons, and a further also relating to dangerous drugs for a trafficking offence from some time ago. You are also in breach of, technically, two suspended sentences, one of 2 months and one of 2 months and 14 days, to be served concurrently. Those relate to resisting arrest and possession of dangerous drugs.

You largely agree with your antecedent statement which tells me that you are 33 years old, born in Hong Kong and educated to form 3. At the time of your arrest, you were unemployed and you lived with your mother and brother. I understand it is not correct to say you are not an abuser of drugs; you do admit that you abuse drugs. You suffer from no major illnesses.

On your behalf thereafter, Mr Chau entered mitigation. He told me that unemployment had only been for one month and you had worked for three years for the company which had ceased trading. He produced to me a very positive letter from your ex-employer, Mr Cho Lin(?). I am told that you are earning approximately $13,000 per month.

It is accepted that you have a history of abusing dangerous drugs. It is also accepted that you are in breach of the suspended sentence.

Mr Chau quite rightly referred me to the tariff for this amount of ketamine, the range being 12 to 14 years, this being 600 to 1,000 grammes of ketamine. This falls right in the centre.

I also take into account that you were entirely co-operative with the police upon arrest. I turn now to the sentence itself.

Charge 2, I take a starting point of 13 years’ imprisonment. You are entitled to and receive the one-third discount for your plea of guilty. This reduces it to 8 years and 8 months. But you are in breach of the suspended sentence and that will be imposed consecutively in full.

So therefore, you will serve, in total, 8 years 10 months and 14 days.