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| Etomidate cartridge (photo: Narcotics Division, Security Bureau) |
A Filipina who holds a recognizance form as identity document,
was jailed for 22 months today for two counts of drug trafficking after she
pleaded guilty at the Eastern Court.
Joanne Miniano, 43 years old and an applicant for non-refoulement, was sentenced to two months in jail for the first count and 22 months for the second count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to sections 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance.
Principal Magistrate David Cheung spent some time computing
the equivalent values of the seized drugs into items with known penalties, such
as ketamine and cannabis, and arrived at 3 months as the starting point of the first
sentence and 33 months in the second.
He gave a one third
discount on both sentences, which will run at the same time.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
Magistrate Cheung said he handed down a stiff sentence after stressing that a shorter jail term will not serve as a deterrent for Minianio because of her Immigration status and the fact that she committed the crime while out on bail for another case.
She received the two-month sentence after she pleaded guilty
to trafficking in 1 cartridge containing 0.48 gram of a liquid containing 0.42
gram of tetrahydrocannabinol, a derivative of cannabinol, which in turn is derived
from cannabis (marijuana).
She committed the offense on August 19, 2025 along with a
person known as "Alex", at a staircase of the eighth floor of Phoenix
Apartments, 54-70 Lee Garden Road, Causeway Bay.
She committed the second offense also along with "Alex",
on the same day, at an eighth floor flat inside the Phoenix Apartments.
The longer jail term was for trafficking in 59 cartridges containing a total of 83.0 grams of a liquid containing 1.17
grams of butomidate (a compound structurally derived from etomidate), 1
cartridge containing 1.43 gram of a liquid containing 0.01 gram of butomidate (a
compound derived from etomidate by replacement of the ethoxycarbonyl by other
alkoxycarbonyl group): 61 cartridges containing a total of 81.8 grams of a
liquid containing 1.76 grams of butomidate (a compound structurally derived
from etomidate by replacement of the ethoxycarbonyl by other alkoxycarbonyl
group), 8 cartridges containing a total of 11.2 grams of a liquid containing
0.29 grams of butomidate (a compound structurally derived from etomidate by
replacement of the ethoxycarbonyl by other alkoxycarbonyl group), 3 cartridges
containing a total of 3.92 grams of a liquid containing 0.09 grams of
butomidate (a compound structurally derived from étomidate by replacement of
the ethoxycarbonyl by other alkoxycarbonyl group); 6 cartridges containing a total
of 8.78 grams of a liquid containing 0.11 grams of butomidate (a compound
structurally derived from etomidate by replacement of the ethoxycarbonyl by
other alkoxycarbonyl group) and 0.01 grams of deschloro-N-ethyl-ketamine (a
compound structurally derived from 2-amino-2-phenylcyclohexanone by
substitution at the nitrogen atom with an alkyl group): 14 plastic bags
containing a total of 487 grams of a solid containing 1.49 grams of
tetrahydrocannabinol (being a tetrahydro. derivative of cannabinol); and I
cartridge containing 0.41 grams of a liquid containing 0.37 grams of
tetrahydrocannabinol (being a tetrahydro derivative of cannabinol).
