A HCCC108/2012 A
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
B HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION B
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 108 OF 2012
C C
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D HKSAR D
v
E E
Wong Tung-kuen, Tony
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F F
Before: Hon Saw J
G Date: 30 May 2012 at 9.49 am G
Present: Mr Wong Wing-sum Vincent, SPP, of the Department of
Justice, for HKSAR
H Mr Cheung Man-fai Jeremy, instructed by Messrs H
Chan, Wong & Lam, assigned by the Director of
I
Legal Aid, for the Accused I
Offence: Trafficking in dangerous drugs (販運危險藥物)
J --------------------------------- J
Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case
K K
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L COURT: On 23 March 2012 this defendant pleaded guilty in the L
Eastern Magistracy to one charge of trafficking in dangerous
drugs, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous
M Drugs Ordinance, Chapter 134. M
Pursuant to section 81B of the Magistrates’ Court Ordinance,
N N
Chapter 227, he was committed to this court for sentence.
Today before me he has confirmed that plea of guilty and
O admitted a Summary of Facts in support of the charge. O
The particulars of the charge alleged that the defendant, on
P 20 October 2011, at the staircase on the 15th Floor of Tai P
Tin House, Pak Tin Estate in Sham Shui Po, trafficked in
13.34 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride, a drug
Q Q
commonly referred to as “Ice”.
R The Summary of Facts reveals that some time after 9 pm on 20 R
October 2011 the defendant was apprehended by police
officers in the staircase referred to in the particulars of
S the charge. He was at that time holding in his right hand a S
package which was subsequently determined to be 13.45
T
grammes of a crystalline solid containing 13.34 grammes of T
methamphetamine hydrochloride.
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CRT11/30.5.2012/CH 1 HCCC108/2012/Sentence
V V
A He was immediately arrested for drug trafficking. He A
readily admitted at the scene that he was in the process of
delivering the drugs. Later in a video-recorded interview
B he confirmed this and expanded upon it. B
He told the police that a person whom he had previously met
C C
at the Hei Ling Chau Drug Rehabilitation Centre had recently
met up with him. They had remained in contact and that
D person had only recently asked him to deliver the drugs. He D
was to collect on behalf of that person $4,800 and was to be
paid himself $200 for making the delivery.
E E
On behalf of the defendant today Mr Cheung readily concedes
that the primary mitigation available to him is his early
F F
plea of guilty. He properly, in my opinion, accepts that
there are no other factors relevant to the circumstances of
G the defendant or the commission of the offence which would G
permit me to increase the normal discount which is applied
when a person pleads guilty.
H H
He has, however, told me something of the defendant’s
I
background. He is 38 years of age, recently separated and I
has one previous conviction for possession of dangerous
drugs in 2009. It was that conviction which led to him
J being sentenced to be detained at a drug addiction treatment J
centre.
K He was previously by occupation a hairdresser and K
unfortunately, due to the downturn in his business, he ran
L into debt and the business was closed. L
Through his counsel he expresses remorse for his behaviour
M on this occasion. Mr Cheung was in possession of M
information which clearly indicates that this defendant is
intent upon rehabilitating himself. That is very much to
N his credit. N
O Approaching the question of sentence, I am guided by the O
Court of Appeal’s decision in the Attorney General v Ching
Kwok Hung, reported at [1991] 2 HKLR, page 125.
P P
The Court of Appeal has provided guidance to sentences for
setting the starting point for sentence for those who
Q Q
traffic in methamphetamine hydrochloride. I am satisfied,
given the quantity of drugs in the instant case that the
R appropriate starting point for sentence after trial is 7 R
years’ imprisonment.
S S
T T
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CRT11/30.5.2012/CH 2 HCCC108/2012/Sentence
V V
A Giving full credit to the defendant for his plea of guilty A
the appropriate sentence is one of 4 years and 8 months’
imprisonment. That is the sentence that I impose.
B B
C C
I/we certify that to the best of our ability and
skill, the foregoing is a true transcript of the
D audio recording of the above proceedings D
E E
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F Christine Hastings F
12 June 2012
G G
H H
I I
J J
K K
L L
M M
N N
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P P
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T T
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CRT11/30.5.2012/CH 3 HCCC108/2012/Sentence
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