Singson asks Hong Kong court for less than 2 years in prison

HONG KONG — Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson yesterday asked the district court for leniency and a jail sentence of less than two years after the judge hearing his case agreed that the cocaine he brought into this Chinese territory was for his personal use.

Wan Chai District Court judge Joseph Yau accepted Singson’s defense that the 14.8 grams of drug powder with 6.67 grams cocaine purity were for his own consumption, ahead of announcing his sentence at 2:30 p.m. today.

Singson’s lawyer John Reading told the court that the aggravating circumstance of importing 6.67 grams of cocaine into Hong Kong has already been “cancelled out” by several mitigating factors — remorse, guilty plea and his good character as congressman and businessman.

Reading noted that Singson has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking on the grounds that the seized substance was only for personal consumption. He added that the Filipino lawmaker will be facing sanctions in Congress as soon as the sentence is handed down today.

“We are not asking for special treatment. We ask that your honor give full weight in these mitigating factors and give sentence of below two years,” he said.

Under Hong Kong’s dangerous drugs ordinance, the sentence for trafficking six grams of prohibited drugs starts with a three-year imprisonment. A guilty plea would mean a one-third discount from the jail sentence.

“He is a man of ample means. He certainly did not need to sell drugs to make money. The court is of the view that he didn’t make use of cocaine for commercial trafficking,” Yau said in yesterday’s ruling.

The judge cited two bank statements that showed Singson’s savings of around P37 million. Yau added that the packaging of the drugs in four small plastic bags and inclusion of a plastic spoon as drug paraphernalia support Singson’s claim of personal consumption.

The judge also ruled out the possibility of social trafficking because Singson did not have any friends in Hong Kong and Macau he was likely to share the drugs with.

Yau accepted Singson’s testimony that his companion Benjamin Liobing supplies him the illegal drugs so he is unlikely to share the purchased substance with him.

However, the judge rejected Singson’s claim that he can consume four to five grams of cocaine a day. Yau gave credence to the testimony of prosecution witness Dr. Lam Ming, a drug addiction specialist, who said that even a heavy cocaine user can only consume two grams a day by snorting.

The judge also admonished Prosecutor Virginia Lau for defending the government’s policy of charging persons arrested at the airports, rather than arguing the drug trafficking case against Singson.

Outside the court, Singson heaved a sigh of relief that the judge accepted his defense of “technical trafficking.”

“It makes me feel a lot better of course now it takes out the connotation of trafficking. It was very hard for me to plead guilty to trafficking. But because of the technicality I had to and that was proven today. And I am very happy about it. There are so many things that the judge considers and I don’t want to preempt whatever the judge will decide,” Singson told reporters.

His father Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson, mother Evelyn, six siblings and girlfriend Lovi Poe attended yesterday’s hearing. They were visibly nervous inside the court as the judge ruled on the facts of case and the witnesses’ testimonies.

The embattled lawmaker admitted that they are still praying for a light sentence. He added that the prospect of going back to jail “worries him so much.”

Singson further said they will decide on whether he will resign from Congress after the court gives its sentence. – Paolo Romero, Teddy Molina, AP