THE five-year jail sentence of a self-confessed drug addict was reduced yesterday by two years after the Court of Appeal found the judge erred in not allowing the man to call evidence to support a contention the drugs were for his personal use. Hiroyuki Sato, 37, had pleaded guilty before District Court Judge Lugar-Mawson to one count each of trafficking in a dangerous drug and possession of part one poison and was given concurrent sentences of five years and three months' jail, respectively. He appealed against the five-year jail term only. The court heard that Sato was stopped at Kai Tak Airport on his arrival from Bangkok on January 1 last year. Various drugs and some part one poison were found. Sato's counsel, Eric Kwok, said the judge had obviously rejected the claim of self-consumption, but before sentencing he should have given Sato a chance to call evidence to substantiate the claim.
