HKSAR v. Mo King Hon

HCCC 215/2015

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 215 OF 2015

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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 charge of trafficking in a dangerous drugcontrary to section (4)(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. That plea of guilty was entered in the Magistrates’ Court on 22 May 2015 and you were committed to the High Court for sentence.

You admitted that on 15 October 2015 at the Customs Arrival Hall BatLok Ma Chau Control Point, you unlawfully trafficked in 350 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 337 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride, otherwise commonly known as ‘Ice’.

On that day at about 7.15 pm upon your arrival in Hong Kong from China the Customs officers intercepted you after you exited from the “Nothing to Declare” channel of the Arrival Hall of Lok Ma Chau Control Point. Upon a body search on your person a resealable transparent plastic bag of ‘Ice’ was found concealed inside your underpants.

You were arrested and under caution you claimed that the ‘Ice’ was given to you by a middle-aged man you came to know at a disco in Shenzhen, and you were to call this man upon your clearing Customs.

The estimated street value of the ‘Ice’ found upon you and as stated in the charge was $162,750.

Defendant, you are 24 years old; you were born in Hong Kong and married. Your wife is from the Mainland and lives there. You pay her regular visits, but you live with your parents and younger brother in Hong Kong. You have attained lower secondary education and had trained as an apprentice chef, until most recently you were promoted to chef.

Mr Jasper Kwan, your counsel, has informed me that the reason why you committed this offence was because of the low income of your parents and your intention to support the forthcoming education of your brother who will commence University next year.

I have also received a very frank admission letter from you as to why committed this offence. Being the eldest child of your family and given the low income of your parents and your intention to support your younger brother, you decided to commit this offence to be the main breadwinner and support your whole family. You realised the importance of knowledge after you entered the labour market and had the determination to support your brother’s further higher level of education and, therefore, committed this very serious offence.

You have three previous convictions, one is related, which was for possession of dangerous drugs to which you were sentenced to probation for 12 months in October of 2012. I am told that you completed that satisfactorily.

Mr Kwan has properly pointed out that your strongest mitigating factor is your plea of guilty and that came at the very earliest opportunity by admission to the Customs officers and, of course, your plea in the Magistrates’ Court.

The Court of Appeal in Hong Kong have laid down guidelines for trafficking in the drug ‘Ice’. The ‘Ice’ guidelines were revised in June 2014. This offence was committed in October 2014 so the revised guidelines are applicable to your case.

In following the guidelines laid down in HKSAR v Tam Yi Chun CACC 524/2011, the amount of drugs that you trafficked in falls within the fourth bracket, that is between 300 and 600 grammes, a starting point of between 15 to 20 years’ imprisonment is appropriate after trial.

Taking into account the quantity of drugs in this case, that is an amount of 337 grammes of ‘Ice’, I take a starting point, had you been convicted after trial, of 15 years and 6 months’ imprisonment.

There is an aggravating factor calling for enhancement of the starting point in this case as you had brought the drugs from China to Hong Kong, and for that aggravating factor which is commonly referred to as the international element, I enhance that starting point by 6 months’ imprisonment.

That makes a sentencing point of 16 years’ imprisonment had you been convicted after trial. Giving you full credit for your plea of guilty, that sentence shall be discounted by one-third, and the resulting sentence to which you shall serve shall be one of 10 years and 8 months’ imprisonment.