Director of Public Prosecutions v Ali

[2016] VCC 840

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA  Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for Publication

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 15-00620

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

AYMAN ALI

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE MAIDMENT
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	17 June 2016
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Ali
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2016] VCC 840

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:
Catchwords:
Legislation Cited:
Cases Cited:
Sentence:

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Ms N. Burnett
For the Accused	Mr S. Moglia

HIS HONOUR:

1Ayman Ali, you have pleaded guilty to an indictment charging you with two offences of negligently dealing with proceeds of crime.  In the first charge, the money amounted to $109,000 and in the second to $65,000.  The maximum term of imprisonment for that offence is five years' imprisonment.

2The prosecution relied upon and tendered a summary of prosecution opening which sets out the facts which I take it are not in dispute, upon which I proceed to sentence you.

3It is, I think, clear that the role that you played in this criminal enterprise was at the lower end. Although the offence of negligently dealing with proceeds of crime in sums of money as substantial as these is still a serious offence, it is not an offence which in my judgment, requires a term of imprisonment, particularly given that the prior court appearances to which you admitted do not include any offences of dishonesty or other offences which suggest that a term of imprisonment is required for the offences to which you pleaded guilty on this indictment.

4Your counsel has provided me with an outline of submissions on the plea which was Exhibit A1 and a letter from Mr Mohammed Ali which speaks well of you as an individual, as a worker and as a family man.

5Mr Moglia, in essence, points to the fact that you have a wife and three children, that you are a worker, you have contributed to the community, that you have good prospects of rehabilitation and essentially that this is an act which is unlikely to be repeated in the future and about which you are now remorseful.

6You have pleaded guilty.  It was not an early plea but it is a plea of guilty and you are entitled to credit for that.

7In the written outline of submissions, Mr Moglia submits that a fine would adequately satisfy the purposes of sentence.  It seems to me that, with respect, that although I have already indicated that a term of imprisonment is not required, these are quite serious offences involving not insubstantial sums of money and given that your means are now limited, I do not regard a fine as a satisfactory way of dealing with the matter.

8It seems to me that although a term of imprisonment is not required, a period of unpaid community worker on a community corrections order meets the justice of this case.

9I canvassed with him whether you would be prepared to consent to a community corrections order for these two offences requiring you to perform 150 hours of unpaid community work and he indicated to me that you would be prepared to consent to that order.

10I must tell you that the order will have conditions with which you must comply.  You will be required to attend as directed before the performance of the community work that is allocated to you and to obey lawful directions of the Community Corrections manager assigned to your case.

11If you fail to comply with any of the terms of the order, then you will be in breach of the order and may be brought back before this Court on a charge of breaching the order, which in itself carries a maximum term of imprisonment of three months.

12During the period of the order, and I am going to make it 12 months, you will be also liable to be resentenced on this matter if you breach the terms of the order.  You would breach it if you committed any further offences punishable by imprisonment during the period of the order and that obviously would involve you running the risk of three months' imprisonment for the breach, any sentence that was imposed for the offence that put you in breach and you could be resentenced on this matter.  So it is a bit like having a suspended sentence hanging over your head whilst the order is in force.

13Once you have performed the 150 hours of unpaid community work, the order will come to an end automatically.  So if you knuckle down and get on with it, you can do that within the 12 month period and that will shorten the period during which the order is in force.

14Given my explanation to you and what you have said previously, are you prepared to consent to being placed on a community corrections order?

15OFFENDER:  Yes.

16HIS HONOUR:  All right.  Thank you.

17Well I make an order therefore, that in respect of the two offences of negligently dealing with the proceeds of crime, I convict you in relation to each of those offences and impose a community corrections order which will commence today for a period of 12 months today.

18Which is the centre that would be appropriate, Mr Moglia?

19MR MOGLIA:  Broadmeadows.

20HIS HONOUR:  Broadmeadows will be the centre and you will be required to report there within two clear working days of today and have the matter explained to you in more detail and the effect of the order explained to you and the requirements of the component requiring you to undergo 150 hours of unpaid community work.

21Now I have indicated that I declined to make the order for a forensic sample on the basis that I am not satisfied that the granting of the order is at this stage in the public interest.

22Is there any other order I need make, Ms Burnett?

23MS BURNETT:  No, Your Honour.

24HIS HONOUR:  No.  All right.  We will just wait whilst the order is drawn up. 
Mr Moglia, would you just approach your client with my associate to ensure that he understands exactly what he is being asked to sign?

25MR MOGLIA:  Yes.

26HIS HONOUR:  All right.  I have signed that.  Mr Ali, you are now free to leave the dock and I have already remanded Mr Allouch in custody until next Wednesday 22 June at 9.30 am.

27MR McQUILLAN:  Yes sir, 9.30.

28MR MOGLIA:  As Your Honour pleases.

29HIS HONOUR:  Yes, thank you Madame Interpreter.

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