A 16-year-old boy was yesterday sent to a training centre for trafficking 20 grams of the drug Ice, a day after a teenage girl was sentenced for a similar offence. The unemployed youth, Ng Ping-hei, pleaded guilty to one count of drug trafficking at the Court of First Instance yesterday. He was 15 when he committed the offence. Acting senior public prosecutor Andrew Cheng Chi-hang told the court some police officers observed Ng walking suspiciously with one hand in his pocket on March 21. When the officers stopped the teenager at Ho Tin Street in Tuen Mun and searched him, they found five plastic bags in one of his trouser pockets. The substances in the bags were later found to be methamphetamine hydrochloride - the scientific name for Ice. According to the Narcotics Bureau, the street value of the 19.83 grams of Ice at the time was about HK$16,000. Cheng told the court Ng had initially claimed the drugs were for his own consumption but eventually admitted that all the drugs found on him were for sale. Deputy Judge Mr Justice Joseph Yau Chi-lap said: "Being a youngster who had no job, it was impossible that he could afford such a large quantity of Ice and would be so generous as to give it to others for free." Defendants below 16 are dealt with by the Juvenile Court. Ng's case was transferred to the adult courts after he turned 16. Training centres hold young inmates - who receive vocational training - for a minimum of six months. Ng's sentencing comes just a day after a 16-year-old girl was jailed for six years and seven months for trafficking 590 grams of the drug ketamine in June. She had been promised HK$300 to deliver the drugs, which were worth an estimated HK$85,000. The contraband was wrapped in tin foil and labelled as tea leaves.
