Lawyer seeks leniency for Filipino lawmaker caught carrying cocaine at Hong Kong airport

The Canadian Press: Lawyer seeks leniency for Filipino lawmaker caught carrying cocaine at Hong Kong airport: "A Philippine congressman planned to use, not sell, the cocaine he carried into Hong Kong last year and should not receive a heavy sentence, his lawyer argued in court Friday.
Under Hong Kong law, bringing drugs into the territory can be defined as trafficking, regardless of the purpose. The maximum penalty is life imprisonment and a fine of 5 million Hong Kong dollars ($640,000).
Philippine Rep. Ronald Singson admitted to the trafficking charge last month, but District Court Judge Joseph Yau wanted to hear arguments on intent before deciding on a sentence.
Singson was caught carrying 0.24 ounces (6.67 grams) of cocaine at the southern Chinese city's international airport in July.
Singson's lawyer, John Reading, argued the drugs were for personal consumption, citing testimony that his client is a heavy drug user and no packaging material was found when the drugs were seized. He added that Singson, a businessman by trade, is independently wealthy and didn't need to sell drugs to earn money.
Prosecutor Virginia Lau, however, argued that Singson likely intended to share at least some of the drugs with friends, questioning his ability to consume all the cocaine himself."

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