Director of Public Prosecutions v Dang
[2016] VCC 1028
•20 July 2016
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL DIVISION
Case No. CR-14-01202
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| THI KIM DANG |
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JUDGE: | His Honour Judge Grant | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 20 July 2016 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 20 July 2016 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Dang | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2016] VCC 1028 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the DPP | Mr M. Fisher | OPP |
| For the Accused | Mr B. Johnston | James Dowsley & Associates |
HIS HONOUR:
1 Thi Kim Dang, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of obtaining a financial advantage by deception. The maximum penalty for this offence is 10 years imprisonment.
2 I have heard a summary of the offending. It is not my intention to repeat the whole summary. It is Exhibit A in this hearing.
3 Briefly, in 2010 you applied for a loan of $380,000 to purchase a property in Lethbridge. In your loan application you claimed that you worked for The World Polymer Group Pty Ltd and earned $3,427 per month. This was false.
4 The loan was granted In April 2010, on the basis of the false information.
5 Your counsel properly conceded that the offending was serious. Your deception enabled you to obtain a large amount of money from the bank.
6 With an offence of this type, general deterrence, just punishment and denunciation are all central sentencing considerations.
7 A number of matters were raised in mitigation.
8 First, and importantly, your offending, it is conceded, has occasioned no loss to the bank.
9 Secondly, you come from a background of hardship. You were born in Vietnam. Your parents were farmers who struggled to make a living. They placed you in the care of your grandmother in your early years. Your mother fled Vietnam by boat in the 1980s. She left with your brother and, after experiencing great hardship, ended up in a refugee camp in Thailand. After a period of 3 years or so, she was granted refugee status in Australia. You were reunited with your mother and brother when you were 17 years old.
10 Thirdly, you have lived in Australia for 20 years. You have no prior convictions. You are a mother with two boys aged 10 and 17. You have stable accommodation and your brother resides with you. There has been no subsequent offending. I am satisfied that you have excellent prospects of rehabilitation.
11 Finally, you entered a plea of guilty. It was not an early plea. However, your plea does have utilitarian benefit. You have saved the witnesses the inconvenience of giving evidence at trial and you have saved the community the cost and expense associated with a trial.
12 Given the factors in mitigation, and taking account of current sentencing practices, the appropriate order in this case is a community corrections order.
13 You are convicted and placed on a community corrections order for 12 months. You are to perform 180 hours of community work. You are required to report to the Sunshine Community Corrections Centre within the next 2 working days. Ms Dang, do you understand the order.
14 OFFENDER: Yes.
15 HIS HONOUR: All right, thank you. We will print up a copy of the order and get you to sign it.
16 MR JOHNSTON: Your Honour, may I approach Ms Dang?
17 HIS HONOUR: Yes, of course. Any other matters, gentlemen? No, thank you. I thank the interpreter for attending and assisting the court.
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