A A
B B
DCCC 525/2022
C [2023] HKDC 379 C
D D
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE
E HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION E
CRIMINAL CASE NO 525 OF 2022
F F
G ---------------------------- G
HKSAR
H H
v
I LAU KAI MAN I
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J J
K Before: Deputy District Judge Amy Chan K
Date: 17 March 2023
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Present: Mr Chow Ho Fung, Martin, Public Prosecutor of Department
M of Justice, for HKSAR M
Ms Liu Yuk Yee, Abigail, Counsel instructed by Henry Chiu
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& Partners, for the defendant
O Offence: [1] Driving while disqualified (於取消駕駛資格期間駕駛) O
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[2] Using a motor vehicle without third party insurance (沒 P
有第三者保險而使用汽車)
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[3] Trafficking in a dangerous drug (販運危險藥物)
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S S
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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A A
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C 1. D is convicted on his own plea of the following charges: C
1
Charge 1- Driving while disqualified ;
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Charge 2 - Using motor vehicle without third party insurance2;
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Charge 3 - Trafficking in dangerous drugs3.
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G Facts G
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2. On 27 December 2021 at around 01:15 hours, PC 11475
I (“PW1”) was ambushing in a police vehicle when he saw a silver Toyota I
7-seater vehicle with registration mark NN3332 (“V1”) driven by D in
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petrol station at No. 17 Kam Tin Road, Pat Heung, Yuen Long.
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3. PW1 found D’s actions suspicious and intercepted him at
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around 01:24 hours. At that time, D had alighted from V1 and was filling
M air into its tyres. Upon request, D produced his HKID for inspection, but M
informed PW1 that he did not have his driver’s license with him. Upon
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checking with the radio, PW1 discovered that D was disqualified from
O driving at the material time. On 8 February 2019, D was convicted for O
driving while disqualified and using a motor vehicle on a road without third
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party insurance and was ordered to be disqualified for 3 years in total.
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S S
1
contrary to s. 44(1)(b) of the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 374)
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contrary to s. 4(1) and (2)(a) of the Motor Vehicle Insurance (Third Party Risks) Ordinance
(Cap. 272)
3
contrary to s. 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Cap. 134)
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V V
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A A
B B
4. At 01:30 hours, PW1 arrested D for driving whilst
C disqualified and driving without third party insurance. D remained silent C
under caution.
D D
E 5. Between 01:34 and 01:38 hours, PW1 conducted a search on E
D, found the following items in D’s handbag (“E1”), and seized them as
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exhibits:
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(i) 6 re-sealable plastic bags containing suspected
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dangerous drugs (“E2”) wrapped in a piece of tissue
I paper inside a cigarette box; I
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(ii) 10 re-sealable plastic bags containing suspected
K dangerous drugs (“E3”) in a bigger re-sealable plastic K
bag; and
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M (iii) 11 re-sealable plastic bags containing suspected M
dangerous drugs (“E4”) in a bigger re-sealable plastic
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bag inside another cigarette box.
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6. At around 01:45 hours, a notebook, containing names and
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figures was found at the sun visor above the driver’s seat of V1. An
Q electronic scale was found in the centre console compartment of V1. Q
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7. At around 02:04 hours, PW1 arrested D for trafficking in
S dangerous drugs. D remained silent under caution. S
T T
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A A
B B
8. E2 – E4 were sent to the Government Laboratory for testing
C and later confirmed in a Government Chemist’s Certificate (“GCC”) to C
contain a total of 4.69 grammes of a solid containing 4.26 grammes of
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cocaine.
E E
9. The estimated street value of E2 – E4 is around HK$7,808.85.
F F
G Criminal Record G
H H
10. D has appeared before the court on 6 previous occasions in
I respect of 12 offences of which 2 related to drug offences, including a I
conviction for trafficking in a dangerous drug, and 2 previous convictions
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for using a vehicle without third party, 1 previous conviction for driving
K while disqualified. His last conviction was for the offences of indecent K
assault in 2020 and was sentenced to 10 weeks’ imprisonment.
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M Mitigation M
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11. D is currently 40 years old. He received education up to the
O fifth grade of secondary school in Hong Kong. O
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12. At the time of the offence, he was employed as a salesman in
Q vehicle trade and was responsible for maintaining and cleaning V1 Q
belonging to his employer. The monthly income of D was about
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HK$30,000.
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T T
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A A
B B
13. Prior to remand, D resided with his parents and his younger
C brother. They shared the responsibility of taking care of their parents and C
supporting the family.
D D
E E
14. In respect of Charges 1 and 2, they were committed out of
F impulsiveness and recklessness. At the time of the offence, D was F
maintaining the V1 at the garage and he felt hungry. Hence, wrongly for
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the sake of convenience, he drove V1 to buy food.
H H
15. In respect of Charge 3, it was committed out of financial
I I
pressure. Since D was disqualified from driving from 8 February 2019 to
J 7 February 2022 and hence required the assistance of his colleagues when J
cars needed to be driven out. D had to share his commission with those
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colleagues. It therefore resulted in a reduction in D’s income. In the
L circumstances, D stupidly agreed to help transport some dangerous drugs L
in return for money to pay for the family expenses.
M M
N Considerations N
O O
Charge 1 & 2: Driving while disqualified and without third party
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16. D has a history of disqualification and clearly is no stranger
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to road traffic offences.
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17. By driving as D did he put other road users at risk and he also
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was in contempt of the original court ordered disqualification. The breach
T was flagrantly committed. T
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A A
B B
18. As for the road traffic offences, I adopt a starting point of 9
C months’ imprisonment on each of Charges 1 and 2 after taking into account C
D’s previous convictions and offending for the same offences. I reduce by
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one third for his guilty pleas to 6 months’ imprisonment on each charge.
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19. The penalty under that Road Traffic Ordinance under sub-
F section 44 (2)(a) is disqualification for a period of not less than 12 months F
in a case of a first conviction and under sub-section (2)(b) for a period of
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not less three years in case of a second or subsequent conviction under that
H section. H
I I
20. Therefore, D is disqualified from driving for 4 years for
J Charge 1. J
K 21. He is also disqualified for 2 years for charge 2. K
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22. I order the sentences and disqualification for both charges to
M run concurrently, making a total sentence of 6 months’ imprisonment and M
disqualification for 4 years.
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O Charge 3: TDD O
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23. It was held in Attorney General v Pedro Nel Rojas [1994] 1
Q HKC 342 that the sentencing guidelines laid down in R v Lau Tak- Q
ming [1990] 2 HKLR 370 for trafficking in the drug of heroine is
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applicable to cocaine as well.
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24. The band of tariff for trafficking less than 10g of cocaine is
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that of 2 to 5 years’ imprisonment.
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V V
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A A
B B
C 25. An arithmetical application of the said tariff sentence to the C
total of 4.26g of cocaine would lead to a starting point of 39 months’
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imprisonment and reduced to 26 months upon his guilty plea.
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Totality
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G 26. The driving offences and the trafficking in dangerous drugs G
offence are separate and distinct. In principle, the sentences for the two
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types of offences should be served consecutively. However, bearing in
I mind the principle of totality, I order that 4 months of the sentence in I
charge 1 and 2 be served consecutively to the 26 months in charge 3.
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K 27. D is, therefore, sentenced to a total of 30 months’ K
imprisonment (26 + 4).
L L
M M
N N
( Amy Chan )
Deputy District Judge
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