HKSAR v. Lai Hung Bing

DCCC 162/2015

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO 162 OF 2015

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.Defendant, you have pleaded guilty today to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to Section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap 134.

2.The facts of this case are very straightforward.

3.At about midnight on 3 January this year, three police officers on anti-drugs patrol saw you and a female friend on King Man Street in Sai Kung.  You were on your mobile phone at the time and you had a pink recyclable bag in one hand.

4.Police decided to intercept you and as soon as they did you threw two mobile phones and the bag on the floor. 

5.I am sure you did this to try and distance yourself from the bag.

6.Your female friend then took it upon herself to pick it up and try and throw it away and put more distance between you and the bag.  In any event, the police intercepted her and the bag.

7.The police found ketamine inside the bag.  The amount of drugs involved is 249 grammes of a powder containing 155 grammes of ketamine.

8.You were arrested by the police for trafficking in dangerous drugs and under caution you remained silent.

9.Later, at a subsequent video recorded interview, again you remained silent.

10.The agreed estimated value of the drugs is over $31,000.

11.You are not a young man of clear record.  Your first offence was a Section 19 wounding offence, for which you were sentenced to a probation in January 2012.

12.Your second conviction is a possession of dangerous drugs, for which you were sentenced to a detention centre order in April 2013.  You were released from detention centre some five months later.

13.You are nearly 21 years old.  You will be 21 this July.  You are single and you live with your mother and your 11-year-old half-brother.  I have been told that you were raised by your mother single-handedly.  Your father and your mother went their separate ways when you were born.

14.The antecedent I have been supplied with says that you are not a triad member nor are you a drug addict.  This has been confirmed as accurate.

15.I have been told that you were employed as a delivery worker until a few months prior to your arrest.

16.You rather stupidly thought it would be a good idea to make money by trafficking dangerous drugs.

17.Your best mitigation is your plea of guilty.

18.I have also had a letter written by you.  It expresses your remorse.  You understand you have disappointed your mother.  She still supports you, visits you daily and is in court today.  You have written in black and white that you will turn over a new leaf and learn a trade, and stay away when you are released from prison from undesirable peers.

19.I hope you mean what you say.  I am sure it is very important in particular to your mother to hear you write this and if you do not keep this promise then what will happen is a lifetime of going in and out of prison.

20.Where trafficking ketamine is concerned, there is a guideline set out by the Court of Appeal.  In the authority of the Secretary for Justice v Hii Siew Cheng [2008] 3 HKC 323, the appropriate starting point that applies to this case is that, where between 50 and 300 grammes of ketamine is trafficked, an appropriate starting point would be between 6 to 9 years’ imprisonment.

21.Here, you have pleaded to trafficking 155 grammes of ketamine.  Mathematically speaking, that is a 7-year starting point.

22.Defendant, please stand up.

23.I will take into account in coming to the appropriate starting point mitigation put forward on your behalf.  I also take into account your background, facts of the case, plea, your remorse, and that this is your first offence of this nature.

24.After considering all those factors, I will take a starting point of 6 years and 6 months’ imprisonment.

25.You have pleaded guilty.  You are entitled to a discount of one-third.

26.After that discount is applied, for this offence you are sentenced to 4 years and 4 months’ imprisonment.

COURT: Do you understand that sentence?

DEFENDANT: Understand.