Director of Public Prosecutions v Ahmed

[2024] VCC 2092

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

AT MELBOURNE

CRIMINAL DIVISION

Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for Publication

Case No. CR-24-00015

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

GULET AHMED

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JUDGE:	HER HONOUR JUDGE HASSAN
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	23 October 2024
DATE OF SENTENCE:	18 December 2024
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Ahmed
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2024] VCC 2092

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:   CRIMINAL LAW

Catchwords:              Sentence — Culpable driving causing death (1 charge); conduct endangering persons (3 charges); possess a drug of dependence (cannabis) (1 charge); and three related summary charges — plea of guilty – offending occurred in Melbourne suburban streets of Carlton and Parkville

Legislation Cited:      Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic)

Cases Cited:Bugmy v R [2013] 249 CLR 571; Hennessey v The King [2024] VSCA; Victorsen v

The Queen [2020] VSCA 248; Phongthaihong v The Queen [2021] VSCA 317;

Rakatau v The Queen [2021] VSCA 76; DPP v Tate [2021] VCC 22; DPP v Grayden

[2020] VCC 279; DPP v Kent [2020] VCC 991; DPP v Gray [2021] VCC 30; DPP v

Bratherton [2020] VCC 1461; DPP v Tsigeletos [2022] VCC 1165; DPP v Castle

[2020] VCC 937; DPP v Evans [2022] VCC 1135; DPP v Egel [2022] VCC 645; DPP

v O’Brien [2023] VCC 505.

Sentence:                  Total effective sentence of: Fourteen years and nine months’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of ten years and nine months.

Section 6AAA declaration: But for the plea of guilty, would have been sentenced to a period of eighteen years’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of fifteen years.

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the DPP	Ms K. Hammill	Solicitor for the Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Mr D. Waters	Waters Lawyers

HER HONOUR:

Introduction

1.    At 11.53 am on Saturday 11 March 2023 Katherine Osborne was travelling in the family car with her parents Michael and Alexandra, south down Lygon Street towards the intersection with Elgin Street in Carlton.  Katherine was in the rear passenger seat.  Her father was driving.  You, Gulet Ahmed were travelling along Elgin Street.  You were speeding and you were drug and alcohol affected.  There had been observations and indeed a report to emergency services of you driving in an erratic and dangerous manner from as early as 11.40 am that morning.

2.    You drove through the red light at the corner of Elgin and Lygon Streets.  Your vehicle collided with the Osborne’s vehicle.  Katherine Osborne suffered non-survivable brain injury in the collision.  She died on 15 March 2023 at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.  She was 16 years old.

3.    Katherine’s parents and a pedestrian, Travis Oliver were all injured in the collision, and you assaulted a man who tried to restrain you in the aftermath of the collision, Mr Antonio De Fazio.

4.    Katherine was her parents’ only child.  Her death has caused her parents unbearable sorrow.  It has also devastated her grandparents, her aunts and uncles and all of her friends.  Katherine was an intelligent, caring and capable young woman on the cusp of her adult life.  Katherine’s death at such a young age is an appalling tragedy.  She had so much to offer the community, but her promising future has been extinguished by you and your abysmal behaviour.

5.    It is now my duty to sentence you in accordance with the law and it is important to stress at the outset that no sentence I impose can undo the tragic events of 11 March 2023, and no sentence I impose can relieve the suffering of Katherine’s parents and restore Katherine to her family and friends.  The sentence I impose is also not a measure of the worth of Katherine’s life.  It involves an assessment of the objective gravity of your offending, your moral culpability and an application of the principles of sentencing relevant in your case.

Circumstances of Offending

6.    I turn now to consider the circumstances of your offending in greater detail.

7.    At 11.40 am you were observed driving along Alexandra Road, Flemington at an excessive speed and crossing over multiple lanes of traffic.  As stated, this prompted a report to emergency services from a witness.

8.    You later drove through the intersection of Curzon Street and Gatehouse Street in Parkville against a red light and collided with another vehicle.  You reversed and drove off without exchanging details with the other driver, and that is Summary Charge 11 – failure to stop after an accident.

9.    You then drove through the intersection of Elgin and Cardigan Streets in Carlton, at speed, against the red light, with no attempt on your part to slow down.

10.  Finally, at 11.53 am you drove at speed against the red light into the intersection of Elgin and Lygon Street colliding with the Osbornes' vehicle and killing Katherine and injuring her parents (Charges 1, 2 and 3).

11. Travis Oliver and Jeffrey Broussard were crossing Elgin Street with their dog on the green signal.  After colliding with the Osbornes' vehicle, you hit Mr Oliver on his left hip and caused him to fall backwards onto the back of his head onto concrete (Charge 4).  Mr Broussard landed on the hood of the Osbornes' vehicle.

12. Passers-by pulled you out of your vehicle.  You were drug-affected and highly aggressive and agitated.  You yelled, 'fuck police bastards'.  Mr. De Fazio tried to calm you down, but you punched him in the face and hit him in the left eye and cheek (Summary Charge 17 – unlawful assault).  You tried to punch Mr De Fazio a second time but another male restrained you.

13. You were arrested at the scene at 12.02 pm.  You were highly erratic and resisting police.  You refused to undergo a preliminary breath test (Summary Charge 22).

14. As a consequence of your driving Mr Osborne suffered a subdural hemorrhage, which is a bleed on the brain, which has caused compression on his brain, left-sided chest pain, right thigh pain, memory loss and emotional trauma.  His injuries were life-threatening and required urgent neurosurgical repair.

15. On 27 April 2023, Mr Osborne was admitted to hospital for the management of his subdural hemorrhage.  He had been suffering right-sided headaches, nausea and had experienced weakness in his left leg and dragging of the left foot.  A CT scan revealed Mr Osborne had suffered further subacute brain bleeds and required a craniotomy and was commenced on anti-seizure medication.  He was discharged from hospital on 30 April 2023.  It is possible that the subdural hemorrhage may have occurred in other circumstances.

16. Mrs Osborne suffered a fracture of the right sixth rib and a fracture of the right shoulder.  She required surgery to repair her shoulder on 31 March 2023.

17. Travis Oliver suffered a fractured pelvis, a fractured skull and injuries to his right leg and various lacerations.

18. Collision reconstruction determined that you had been travelling at 103 kilometres per hour when you collided with the Osbornes' vehicle.  The applicable speed limit was 40 kilometres per hour.  There was no evidence of any pre-collision braking on your part.

19. Toxicological analysis revealed at the relevant time you had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.194 grams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood and 0.09 milligrams of methylamphetamine in your blood.

20. Toxicologist Dimitri Gerostamoulos gives the opinion that you were significantly impaired because of your consumption of alcohol and methylamphetamine, and that;

'The combination of substantial alcohol and methylamphetamine will further increase the degree of impairment seen with alcohol and methylamphetamine separately.  I conclude that the defendant would have been incapable of having proper control of a motor vehicle'.[1]

[1]        Summary of prosecution opening dated 13.8.24 at p.12, paragraph 54(e).

21. You were interviewed by the police on 12 March 2023.  You gave mostly no comment answers but stated that it was not your intention to hurt anyone, and you said you were sorry for the people who got hit.

Charges and Maximum Penalties

22. You pleaded guilty to the following charges, carrying the following maximum penalties.

23. One charge of culpable driving causing death for which the maximum penalty is
20 years' imprisonment.  This is a standard sentence offence with a standard sentence of eight years' imprisonment.  It requires a mandatory custodial disposition unless exceptions apply and there was no argument that any exceptions apply in your case.

24. Three charges of conduct endangering persons which has a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment.

25. You were found in possession of a small amount of cannabis which has a maximum penalty of five penalty units and methylamphetamine which carries a maximum penalty of 1 year imprisonment or 30 penalty units.

26. Failure to stop a vehicle after an accident, for which the maximum penalty is five penalty units or 14 days imprisonment.

27. Unlawful assault which carries a maximum penalty of 15 penalty units or three months' imprisonment, and refuse a preliminary breath test which in your case, having two relevant prior convictions, carries a maximum penalty of 180 penalty units and not more than 18 months' imprisonment.

Victim Impact Statements

28. I turn now to the victim impact statements and I begin with Mr Oliver.  Mr Oliver says that he was a fit and active man prior to the injuries he sustained in the collision.  He says he has struggled since in many aspects of his life including his relationships and financially.  He spent months rehabilitating from his injuries and still experiences emotional turmoil.  He says, 'My scars are physical reminders for me of this horrible incident.  Every time I see them, I feel an emotional punch to the gut as I am taken back to that day and the damage that it has caused.  I grieve heavily for the young girl who lost her life and her parents who no longer have her'.

29. I turn now the victim impacts statements of Mr and Mrs Osborne.  Both Mr and Mrs Osborne provided the Court with profoundly moving accounts of Katherine’s life and the pain and despair that Katherine’s death has caused them.

30. Mr and Mrs Osborne were loving and devoted parents.

31. Mrs Osborne says, 'I am furious that all that effort put into raising her from a baby to an adolescent, all that love, nurturing and care has ended in the most abrupt and cruel way.  It was a violent end for someone who was exceptional, kind and gentle, who led a quiet life.  She was an innocent girl who wasn’t deserving of that.  To know that we survived, and she didn’t is unfair.  Life without her is painful and difficult.'  She goes on, 'It will be difficult to live out my days without Katherine by my side.  I fear I will forget her face and the sound of her voice as the years pass.  I’m unsure if I will find joy and live a full and meaningful life as she was my joy and she gave such purpose to my life.  I loved being her mum and her friend.  I find that as time passes, I miss her even more and, in some way, I feel like my grief is deepening.  I can’t image what life will be like in my twilight years and I am upset that she will not be by my side.  It is hurtful to know that Katherine’s friends are growing up and living their best lives while she can no longer'.

32.  Mrs Osborne points out that Katherine was her parents only grandchild and that too leaves her with feelings of profound sadness and hopelessness.

33. Mr Osborne says that after Katherine’s death his brother observed that he had not only lost his daughter, but that he had lost his best friend.  Mr Osborne describes his close relationship with Katherine and all the very many things they shared.  He says it is difficult to find the motivation to do anything now that she is gone.  He says, 'Though reason tells me that it's not my fault, my heart tells me that I’ve failed my number one duty as a father – to keep my child from harm.  She was such a good kid all her life: intelligent, friendly, sharp-witted, beautiful, artistic and athletically gifted.  She could have gone on to do anything she wanted to.  This year she would have turned 18, graduated high school, learned to drive, and next year started at Melbourne University, and now none of that will happen.  Every day I wear a bracelet that I bought for her at the market, a ring I bought for her last Christmas is on a chain around my neck, and I go to sleep holding her favorite soft toy'.

34. I take into account the effects of your crimes on your victims in the sentence I will impose.  I must however be careful not allow the devastating effects of your offending and the enormous sorrow that they have caused to swamp all other sentencing considerations.

Personal Circumstances

35. I turn now to your personal circumstances and in outlining your personal circumstances I rely in the main on the report of Pamela Matthews, forensic psychologist, dated 4 September 2024.

36. Your date of birth is recorded as 17 December 1982, but you told your counsel
Mr Gullaci of senior counsel, that this is wrong and you were born in October 1984, so you have just turned 40.

37. You were born in Somalia.  You came to Australia in 1992 when you were around
eight  to 10 years old.  You told Ms Matthews that your mother is still alive in Somalia, but your father had died when you were around three to four years.

38. In Australia you lived with your aunt.  Your uncle (that is your father’s brother) was supposed to join you but instead he stayed in Somalia and married your mother.  You have a number of half-siblings from the marriage of your mother and your uncle.

39. You last saw your aunt in 2011.  You had not had a good relationship with her.

40. The only family you have here in Australia are the children of one your sisters and your uncle who left your mother, remarried and eventually came to Australia.  You have very little contact with these family members and they offer you little, if any, support.

41. You completed your schooling until Year 10.  After school you did three years of a mechanics apprenticeship, but you told Ms Matthews that you were unable to finish your apprenticeship due to financial constraints.

42. You then worked in hospitality.

43. Your aunt kicked you out of home when you were 16 and you have thereafter lived on the streets or in a youth hostel or refuges.

44. You have a criminal history going back to an appearance in the Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court in February 2004 for offences of theft of a motor vehicle, using cannabis, resist police and failure to answer bail.  You were fined with conviction.

45. On 1 December 2005 you were convicted and fined for using an unregistered vehicle, false registration and a failure to signal.  On this date you were also sentenced to serve a sentence three months' imprisonment by way of an intensive correction order for driving while disqualified and exceeding the prescribed concentration of alcohol three hours after driving.

46. On 4 July 2008 were convicted and fined for the possession of cannabis.

47. On 6 November 2008 you were sentenced to one month imprisonment which was suspended for 12 months for exceeding the prescribed concentration of alcohol three hours after driving.  You were also convicted and fined $400 for breaching an Interlock condition and failing to display P plates.

48. On 11 February 2009 you were sentenced to an aggregate sentence of three months' imprisonment for driving in a manner dangerous and breaching an Interlock condition.  On this date you were also convicted and fine $1950 for failure to stop a motor vehicle on request, assault police, use of an unregistered motor vehicle, use of an unroadworthy vehicle and possession of a controlled weapon without excuse.

49. On 15 March 2011 you were sentenced here in the County Court to a total effective sentence of eight years' imprisonment with a non-parole period of five years for offences of aggravated burglary, armed robbery and recklessly causing injury.  As is evident by the lengthy custodial sentence imposed this was very serious offending. In company, armed with a baseball bat, you entered a private house and assaulted the occupants while demanding money.  You were paroled in 2016 but breached your parole and went back into custody in 2017 and then were again paroled in 2018.

50. After your release from custody, you obtained Community Housing in Doncaster and attempted to set yourself up in business as a sole trader in panel beating and car detailing.

51. You told Ms Matthews your mental health went into decline during the pandemic lockdown period.  You broke up with a girlfriend and told Ms Matthews a friend stole money from you.  You said you began using drugs and alcohol.

52. You have used drugs recreationally since your youth.  You told Ms Matthews at the time of your offending you were using two to three grams of methylamphetamine a day, drinking half a bottle of scotch a day and using two grams of cannabis.

53. You told Ms Matthews you had two admissions to hospital before the collision for drug induced psychosis.

54. You have been prescribed Valium to deal with your depression and are currently on an antidepressant.

55. Ms Matthews found you to present with recurrent distressing memories of the collision and to be experiencing persistent shame about the collision.

56. Ms Matthews gives the opinions that you present with a history of emotional neglect in childhood and adolescence.  She says you lack the psychological skills to manage your feelings of insecurity, dysfunction and depression and rely on illicit substances.  She says;

'It would be simplistic to relate Mr Ahmed’s offending solely to his substance misuse, his substance misuse merely being the symptom of far more serious underlying impairment in psychological functioning encompassing self, attachment and rapidly fluctuating mood and emotional stress'.[2]

[2]        Forensicare report of Pamela Matthews dated 4.9.24 at p.11.

57. She gives the further opinion that given your report of two hospital admissions prior to the collision that you may have been in a state of drug-induced psychosis at the time of your offending.

58. On your prospects of rehabilitation, she noted there were some positives including what she found to be your genuine shame and regret, your persistence in trying to create a positive future for yourself, and that you continued to care for your mother and family in Somalia which included sending money to your mother when you could.  You will however require intensive support to address your substance addiction.

Objective Gravity and Moral Culpability

59. I turn now to my assessment of the objective gravity of your offending and your moral culpability.

60. This was objectively very serious offending.  You got behind the wheel of your car and drove when you were heavily intoxicated and significantly impaired by your consumption of both drugs and alcohol.  Your counsel Mr Gullaci raised with me in accordance Ms Matthews opinion, and some hospital attendance records which disclose psychotic episodes, that your offending may be explained by an episode of drug induced psychosis.  However, Mr Gullaci was clear that he did not raise this as a mitigatory consideration, only as an explanation for your behaviour.  I remain uncertain whether you were in a state of drug induced psychosis.  I am not sure whether it matters whether or not I am able to form a conclusion about this.  What matters is what is abundantly clear, which is that you were inarguably in no condition to drive and yet you did so.

61. You have habitually used drugs for a number of years, and you would have been well aware of the effects of both drugs and alcohol upon you and you would have been well aware that you were in no fit state to drive.

62. Your driving was appalling.  From 11.40 am you were driving in a manner that exposed the public at large to risk.  You drove at excessive speed.  You drove erratically and aggressively.  You drove through two red lights at speed before the collision with the Osbornes, which involved you driving at speed through yet another red light with no attempt at braking.  You had also collided with another vehicle prior to colliding with the Osborne vehicle and had just driven off.  The damage you caused to this vehicle was minimal, but you could have stopped and perhaps what followed would have been avoided.

63. Put simply, your driving shows that you were completely out of control and were a grave danger to anyone unfortunate enough to encounter you that morning.  There was an inevitability to the tragic consequences of your behavior.  There was an inevitability that you would cause havoc from the moment you got behind the wheel.

64. In addition to the charge of culpable driving, I regard the charges of conduct endangering a person as serious examples of this offence given the gravity of your conduct and the high degree of risk involved.

65. Your moral culpability is very high.

Matters in Mitigation

66. Turning now to the matters relied upon in mitigation and raised with me by your counsel.

67. I begin with your plea of guilty.  You pleaded guilty on 19 June 2024.  This is not an early plea, but Mr Gullaci submitted there was never an intention to contest the charge of culpable driving and the delay in entering the plea is attributable to negotiations concerning Charges 2, 3 and 4.  He further submitted that there was no committal and no witness has been required to give evidence and recall traumatic events.  Mr Gullaci submitted in these circumstances you were entitled to an appropriate sentencing discount.

68. Mr Gullaci further submitted that your plea could be treated as indicative of remorse.  Mr Gullaci acknowledged that your behaviour in the immediate aftermath was appalling but he submitted that once you came down from drugs you came to realise the enormity of what you had done, and since then you have expressed deep and genuine remorse.  In addition to your statements to Ms Matthews, documents from Justice Health were relied upon to support these submissions.  These records gave details of your conversations with nurses and psychologists in custody in which you expressed your remorse.

69. Mr Gullaci submitted Bugmy[3] principles were engaged in a general sense to moderate your moral culpability.  He submitted you were raised in an environment of profound deprivation.  This is described in the report of Ms Matthews and also in the 2011 sentencing remarks of Chief Judge Rozenes who sentenced you for the aggravated burglary and other offences in this Court.

[3]        Bugmy v R [2013] 249 CLR 571 (“Bugmy”)

70. Mr Gullaci acknowledged the relevance of your prior history but submitted that you did not have priors of comparable seriousness.  He pointed out that you were licensed to drive at the time of your offending.

71. Mr Gullaci submitted that you are using your time in prison as productively as you can.  You are not using drugs.  You are taking courses, and you are taking medication and seeing a psychologist.  He submitted that you do have the potential to rehabilitate given you will serve a lengthy term of imprisonment, your age, your abstinence from drugs in custody and that you do have some work history.

72. Mr Gullaci referred me to current sentencing practices.  He acknowledged that a term of imprisonment consisting of a head sentence and a non-parole period was the only appropriate sentence.  He acknowledged that you were likely to receive a sentence of at least eight years on the charge of culpable driving given the standard sentence provisions and given the very grave nature of your conduct.  He urged me not to impose crushing sentence and while he acknowledged there needed to be some cumulation given there were other victims involved, he submitted orders for cumulation had to be limited to avoid breaching the principle of totality.

Sentencing Considerations

73. Turning now to the application of the relevant sentencing considerations.

74. First, I am prepared to treat your plea of guilty as an early plea. I accept the submission of your counsel that you have always been prepared to resolve this matter and that no witness has been cross-examined in the resolution of the matter.  Your plea has saved the community and the witnesses the cost and trauma of a trial.  I am also prepared to treat your plea as indicative of some remorse on your part.

75. On the topic of remorse, I accept that once you came down from drugs and understood the tragic consequences of your behaviour you have been remorseful.

76.  I find that Bugmy principles are engaged in a general sense in sentencing you.  Your background cannot be directly causally linked to your offending but I find that the trauma and dislocation of your childhood and youth set you up for a transient lifestyle and left you susceptible to addiction and mental health difficulties.  Your moral culpability is therefore moderated.

77. However, weighted against this is the gravity of your offending and its many aggravating features.  Furthermore, your inability over the years to refrain from offending, including your relevant history of dangerous and alcohol affected driving, enlivens the sentencing principles of specific deterrence and community protection.

78. You now face for the second time a long stint in prison.  You are middle aged, your rehabilitation is really up to you.  If you remain drug and alcohol free in custody and you make the most of what opportunities are afforded you are capable of rehabilitating.

79. I have had regard to the sentencing statistics provided to me by the defence.

80. I also take into account the maximum penalty for the offences, and I also take into account the standard sentence for the offence of culpable driving.

81. The standard sentence applies to an offence in the mid-range of seriousness based only on its objective factors.  It is a legislative guidepost.  It is but one matter that I must take into consideration, and I do so.  On the charge of culpable driving I intend to sentence you to a sentence that is higher than the standard sentence as I consider your offending on Charge 1 to fall well above the mid-range of seriousness for the offence of culpable driving.

82. In fact taking into consideration the cases provided to me, including the Court of Appeal decision in Hennessey[4] which upheld a sentence of 12 years on a charge of culpable driving on a plea in respect of a young offender without relevant priors.

[4]        Hennesey v The King [2024] VSCA 2; Victorsen v The Queen [2020] VSCA 248; Phongthaihong v The

Queen [2021] VSCA 317; Rakatau v The Queen [2021] VSCA 76; DPP v Tate [2021] VCC 22; DPP v

Grayden [2020] VCC 279; DPP v Kent [2020] VCC 991; DPP v Gray [2021] VCC 30; DPP v Bratherton

[2020] VCC 1461; DPP v Tsigeletos [2022] VCC 1165; DPP v Castle [2020] VCC 937; DPP v Evans

[2022] VCC 1135; DPP v Egel [2022] VCC 645; DPP v O’Brien [2023] VCC 505.

83. It is my view that none of the cases provided to me combine the high level of culpability with a relevant criminal history as is the case here.

84. I have had regard to the principles of totality and parsimony.  There will be a need for some cumulation on charges which involve other victims, and I do also intend to order some cumulation on the charge of refusing a preliminary breath test as, in my view, this a discrete head of criminality and in your case is repeat offending.

85. General deterrence is the predominant sentencing principle.  The message must be sent to those who get behind the wheel intoxicated and drive with a callous disregard for the safety of the community, and whose actions result in the death and devastation of innocent people, that they must expect stern punishment.

86. I denounce your conduct on behalf of the community.

87. Taking into account all the matters I am required to under the Sentencing Act and matters personal to you I intend to sentence you as follows.

Sentences and Orders

88. You need to stand now, Mr Ahmed.

89. You are convicted on all charges, indictable and summary.

90. On Charge 1 you are sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment.

91. On Charge 2 you are sentenced to two years' imprisonment.

92. On Charge 3 you are sentenced to two years' imprisonment.

93. On Charge 4 you are sentenced to two years' imprisonment.

94. On Charge 5 you are convicted and discharged.

95. On Charge 6 you are convicted and sentenced to one month imprisonment.

96. On summary charge 11 you are convicted and sentenced to 7 days' imprisonment.

97. On summary charge 17 you are convicted and sentenced to two months' imprisonment.

98. On summary charge 22 you are convicted and sentenced to six months'       imprisonment.

99. Charge 1 is the base charge.

100.I make the following orders of cumulation upon Charge 1 and upon each other; six months of the sentences on Charges 2, 3 and 4; one month of the sentence on summary charge 17, and two months of the sentence on summary charge 22.

101.That makes a total effective sentence of 14 years and nine months' imprisonment.

102.I am required to set a non-parole period of at least 70 per cent of the head sentence unless it is in the interests of justice not to do so.  In your case I direct you serve a non-parole period of 10 years and nine months.

103.The pre-sentence detention is 648 days not including today and I direct that be entered into the records of the Court.

104.Pursuant to s6AAA of the Sentencing Act, but for your plea of guilty I would have sentenced you to 18 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of 15 years.

105.I find that you were under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and this contributed to your offending.  Charges 1 through to 4 are serious motor vehicle offences under the Sentencing Act.  I am required to cancel your licence and disqualify you from obtaining a further licence for a period of not less than 24 months.

106.On Charge 1 I intend to cancel your licence and disqualify you for eight years from today.  On all other charges I cancel and disqualify your licence for two years beginning today.  Given the length of your sentence that will have no practical effect.  I have decided that in order to help foster your rehabilitation, after a lengthy term of imprisonment, you should be able to be re-licenced but the length of the disqualification on the charge of culpable driving is nevertheless appropriately reflective of the very grave nature of your offending.

107.I make the disposal order sought by the prosecution.

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