A DCCC857/2011 A
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE
B HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION B
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 857 OF 2011
C C
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D HKSAR D
v.
E E
Wu Yau-ming
F F
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G Before: H H Judge Tallentire G
Date: 20 September 2011 at 10.36 am
Present: Mr Sharman Lam, PP, of the Department of Justice, for
H HKSAR H
Mr Wong Kwok-tung, Daniel, of Messrs Fan Wong & Tso,
I
assigned by the Director of Legal Aid, for the I
Defendant
Offence: (1) Trafficking in a dangerous drug (販運危險藥物)
J (2) Possession of a dangerous drug (管有危險藥物) J
(3) Possession of arms without a licence (無牌管有槍械)
K K
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L Reasons for Sentence L
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M M
N 1. Defendant, you have pleaded guilty to one offence of N
trafficking in dangerous drugs, and one offence of possession of
O dangerous drugs respectively contrary to sections 4(1)(a) and O
(3) and sections 8(1)(a) and (2) of the Dangerous Drugs
P P
Ordinance, Cap.134. Additionally, you also pleaded guilty to one
offence of possession of arms without a licence contrary to
Q Q
sections 13(1) and (2) of the Firearms and Ammunitions
R Ordinance, Cap.238. R
S 2. You admitted the brief facts and I convicted you. S
T T
3. Briefly what happened is this. At 8 pm on 29 May of
this year police sergeant 48911, PW1, with another officer,
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CRT31/20.9.2011/SR 1 DCCC857/2011/Sentence
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A found you in a toilet on the 2nd Floor of Sun Chi Shing, 65 A
Argyle Street. You had traces of white powder on your nostrils
B so you were stopped for inquiry. A search revealed two plastic B
bags containing white powder in your shoulder bag, also a $100
C C
note with traces of white powder, electronic scales, a plastic
straw also with traces of white powder and some resealable
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plastic bags.
E E
4. Also, in your briefcase was found two imitation
F firearms and a folding knife. Arrested and cautioned you said, F
“Ah Sir, this is ketamine. It is for my own consumption. I use
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the electronic scales to weigh the drugs before consumption in
order to prevent inhaling too much. As for the guns, I do the
H H
modification for others. I have never used them to commit any
I
crime.” I
J 5. At 1310 hours DPC54554 escorted you to your home to J
conduct a house search in To Kwa Wan where he found four air
K pistols and five air rifles. He cautioned you and took a record K
of interview. You said, “Ah Sir, the nine guns all belong to me.
L L
Sometimes I would invite friends to play war games, therefore I
have many air rifles. I have made modifications on the 9 air
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rifles. I would assist my friends and clients to modify air guns
N so the bullet can shoot for a longer distance and it would be N
more fun during competition.”
O O
6. In a video recorded interview under caution on 29 May
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you said the following:
(a) Playing with airguns was your hobby and you had
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some knowledge of repairing them. You used to play war
games in the countryside and therefore possessed many
R guns. You shared your hobby with friends who asked you R
to make modifications and you could earn about $1000 a
time.
S S
(b) On 29 May you met Ah Sing in an amusement centre
in Tsim Sha Tsui from whom you had purchased one ounce
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of ketamine for $1,400. You would consume some
yourself and sell the rest in amusement game centres in
U Yau Ma Tei and Tsim Sha Tsui. U
CRT31/20.9.2011/SR 2 DCCC857/2011/Sentence
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A A
(c) Before arrest you brought two air pistols to a
friend’s home in Mongkok for modification and repair.
B B
(d) On the way home you went into a toilet in Sun Chi
Shing, put some ketamine in a bank note and sniffed it
C C
with the straw. You were then intercepted.
D (e) All nine air rifles found belonged to you. After D
installing sights and enhancing the power of the
batteries you would sell them to friends.
E E
(f) The folding knife was used to cut packaging of air
gun components, not for anything illegal.
F F
7. Photographs were taken at your residence and these
G G
would support the fact that a great deal of war equipment and
H tools for gun repair and modification were found. H
I 8. Subsequent analysis showed the two plastic bags I
contained 30 grammes of powder containing 20.79 grammes of
J J
ketamine. The $100 bank note folded into a packet contained 0.21
grammes of powder containing 0.16 grammes of ketamine. The straw
K K
segment revealed traces of ketamine also.
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9. Testing of the guns revealed only one could be shown
M to be a firearm with the capability of discharging 6 mm calibre M
plastic balls with muzzle energy over 2 joules, namely 2.3
N N
joules. That is Charge 3.
O O
10. You admitted to four previous convictions on four
P
occasions, two of which involved dangerous drugs. P
Q 11. On your behalf, Mr Wong entered mitigation. He told me Q
that you are 24 years of age, educated to Form 3, and you had
R worked as a waiter. Your parents divorced about a year ago and R
the whereabouts of your father is unknown. You reside with your
S S
mother and sister. Your previous convictions occurred when you
were young, the first being when you were 15.
T T
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CRT31/20.9.2011/SR 3 DCCC857/2011/Sentence
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A 12. The main mitigation that he put forward was your plea A
of guilty and also your cooperation with the police on arrest.
B Mr Wong said that you are addicted to dangerous drugs; you would B
consume two to three times a day and you would have used some of
C C
the dangerous drugs for your own consumption.
D D
13. He told me that your mother was present in court and
E that family was supporting you in this time. He then read out E
the three letters, one from yourself, one from your mother and
F one from your sister. You begged for leniency and promised to F
behave in the future. Both your sister and mother were
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supportive of your position and the consensus seems to be that
you have become involved with dangerous drugs again because of
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your dubious peers.
I I
14. I turn now to the sentence. The 1st Charge involves
J trafficking in dangerous drugs in an amount of approximately 21 J
grammes of ketamine and so falls within the range of 4 to 6
K years’ imprisonment. I fully accept that you would have consumed K
some of the dangerous drugs yourself. This is supported by the
L L
facts, especially as to what led to your arrest.
M M
15. The air gun itself was not the worst of its kind and I
N accept, although it was illegally possessed, there was no N
intention to use it to commit crimes. What the police found at
O your home bears out the fact that you have a hobby which O
involves war gaming.
P P
16. I accept that you enjoy the support of your family. I
Q Q
also note that you are a young man and this is your first
R offence of trafficking in dangerous drugs, although you have R
previously been involved with dangerous drugs. I also accept
S from the point of arrest you were fully cooperative with the S
police and give you credit for that.
T T
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CRT31/20.9.2011/SR 4 DCCC857/2011/Sentence
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A 17. Applying the principle of totality and also taking A
into account that some of the drugs were for you own consumption
B I will take the very lowest sentence in the tariff. On Charge 1 B
I take a starting point of 4 years reduced to 32 months for your
C C
plea of guilty.
D D
18. On Charge 2 I take a starting point of 12 months
E reduced to 8 months for your plea of guilty. This will be served E
concurrently.
F F
19. On Charge 3 I take as a starting point 12 months’
G G
imprisonment reduced to 8 months and to give effect to the
principle of totality, four months will be concurrent and 4
H H
months consecutive. Therefore, in total, you will go to prison
I
for a period of 36 months. I
J J
K Tallentire K
District Judge
L L
M M
N N
O O
P P
Q Q
R R
S S
T T
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CRT31/20.9.2011/SR 5 DCCC857/2011/Sentence
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