Director of Public Prosecutions v Huang
[2015] VCC 235
•13 February 2015
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS | |
| v | |
| LIMING HUANG NING LI MIN YU WANGHAO HONG JUNYE WU | CR-13-02203 CR-13-02204 CR-13-02205 CR-13-02407 CR-13-00835 |
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| JUDGE: | HIS HONOUR JUDGE DEAN |
| WHERE HELD: | Melbourne |
| DATE OF HEARING: | 28 January 2015, 29 January 2015, 2 February 2015, 6 February 2015 |
| DATE OF SENTENCE: | 13 February 2015 |
| CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Huang |
| MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2015] VCC 235 |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Director of Public Prosecutions | Mr R. Pirrie | C.D.P.P. |
| For Accused Huang | Mr A. Jackson | Michael Gleeson & Associates |
| For Accused Li | Mr B. Nibbs | Emma Turnbull Lawyers |
| For Accused Yu | Ms C. Lynch | Revill & Papa Lawyers |
| For Accused Hong | Ms J. Condon | Lethbridges Barristers & Solicitors |
| For Accused Wu | Mr C. Mandy | Danos Lawyers |
HIS HONOUR:
1Liming Huang, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, contrary to ss.11.5.1, and 307(1).1 of the Criminal Code (Cth). The maximum penalty for that offence is life imprisonment or a fine of 7,500 penalty units or both and you have also pleaded guilty to one charge of dealing with the proceeds of crime to a value of $100,000 or more, contrary to s.400.4.1 of the Criminal Code (Cth). The maximum penalty for that offence is 20 years' imprisonment or a fine of 1,200 penalty units or both.
2You pleaded guilty following the conduct of committal proceedings and after your trial was listed in this court. I accept that your plea has spared the community the expense and demands of a complex criminal trial. I also accept it is evidence of a degree of remorse for your offending and I have taken your plea into account in your favour in mitigation of sentence.
3You have no prior convictions, subsequent convictions or outstanding charges.
4A prosecution opening was read to the court and tendered in evidence and your offending may be summarised as follows -
5Between May 2012 and March 2013, you and your co-accused were members of a syndicate involved in multiple importations of methamphetamine from China. The importations were effected by posting the substance in parcels to addresses in Melbourne. During the course of the charge period in your case, 1,825 grams of pure methamphetamine was intercepted by investigating police. Your role in the syndicate was to liaise with suppliers of the drug in China, obtain addresses to which the methamphetamine would be posted and provide those addresses to the suppliers in China. You also remitted substantial moneys in the sum of $95,157 from the sale of the methamphetamine to China.
6The conduct relied upon by the prosecution in support of Charge 2 concerns you transferring $251,585 to China between the period of January and April 2012. You played a significant and trusted role in the illegal activities of the syndicate and persons such as you who are involved in the organised importation of border controlled drugs into this country for profit must expect the imposition of substantial terms of imprisonment on conviction and the sentence that I impose must be calculated to deter you and others from offending in this way. Furthermore, you must be punished for what you have done. Illegal drugs of dependence and in particular methamphetamine, cause incalculable damage to our society and in my opinion, your offending is of the utmost seriousness.
7I now turn to your personal circumstances. You were born on 23 January 1990 in China. You are now aged 25 and are youthful first offender. Your family reside in China and own a business there. You have one older brother. You arrived in Australia in 2007 on a student visa to study English. You attended Ozford English Language Centre until June 2008 when you discontinued the course. Thereafter you resided in Australia contrary to the conditions of your visa as you were not studying but were in fact engaged in cash paid employment. You became involved in the offending before the court after meeting persons involved in drug related crime in the course of the work you were undertaking after you finished your studies.
8I accept that imprisonment for you will involve a degree of hardship by reason of your isolation from your family. You will be deported to China on your release from prison.
9In my opinion, your prospects of rehabilitation may properly be described as good and I have received in evidence a number of certificates regarding courses undertaken by you whilst you have been remanded in custody in prison.
10Ning Li, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to import a marketable quantity of a border controlled drug, contrary to s.11.5.1 of the Criminal Code (Cth) and s.307.2.1 of the Criminal Code (Cth). The maximum penalty for that offence is 25 years' imprisonment or a fine of 5,000 penalty units or both. You have also pleaded guilty to one charge dealing with money reasonably suspected of being the proceeds of crime to the value of $100,000 or more, contrary to s.400.9.1 of the Criminal Code (Cth). The maximum penalty for that offence is three years' imprisonment or a fine of 180 penalty units or both.
11You pleaded guilty following committal proceedings and after your matter was listed for trial. However, I accept that you were prepared to plead guilty to these charges at an early stage and further, that your plea is evidence of a degree of remorse in your case. Your plea has also spared the community the costs and demands of a complex criminal trial and I have taken it into account in your favour in mitigation of sentence.
12You have no prior convictions or subsequent convictions and are facing no outstanding charges.
13A prosecution opening was read to the court in your case and tendered in evidence and your offending may be summarised as follows -
14Between 30 January 2013 and 5 March 2013, you conspired with your co-accused, Huang, to import methamphetamine from China and 378.2 grams of that pure substance was in fact imported during your charge period. You were party to a criminal agreement with Huang during the period of your charge and you performed a number of acts pursuant to that agreement. You occupied at that time a senior position in the syndicate and as I have said, you carried out important tasks at that time. In particular, you obtained addresses from your co-accused for parcels to be sent to. You directed the activities of your co-accused and kept records of the activities of the syndicate. In relation to Charge 2 on the Indictment, you transferred the sum of $146,940 to China.
15The sentence that I impose must be calculated to deter you and others from offending in this way. You were involved in the importation of border controlled drugs for profit and as I have already observed, this activity is in my opinion of the utmost seriousness. You must also be punished for what you have done. Your counsel submitted that you were vulnerable to being approached to offend and agreed to do so in the expectation that you would be paid the sum of $10,000.
16I now turn to your personal circumstances. You were born on 28 February 1989 in China and you are now aged 25. You are a youthful first offender. Your family reside in China and I also accept that in your case, your imprisonment will involve a degree of hardship for you by reason of your isolation from friends and family, although you have a cousin who resides in Australia and some friends here.
17You arrived in Australia in 2007 on a student visa and thereafter studied English for approximately 12 months. You were then engaged in a variety of cash paid occupations and were therefore resident in this country illegally when you offended.
18You will also be deported to China on your release from prison. I also accept that in your case, your prospects for rehabilitation may properly be described as good.
19Min Yu, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of trafficking in a marketable quantity of a controlled drug, contrary to s.302.3.1 of the Criminal Code (Cth). The maximum penalty for that offence is 25 years' imprisonment or a fine of 5,000 penalty units or both. You have also pleaded guilty to one charge of dealing with money reasonably suspected of being the proceeds of crime to the value of $100,000 or more, contrary to s.400.9.1 of the Criminal Code (Cth). The maximum penalty for that offence is three years' imprisonment or a fine of 180 penalty units or both.
20You pleaded guilty after committal proceedings and following negotiations with the Commonwealth DPP. Your plea has also saved the community the costs and demands of a complex criminal trial and I accept that it is evidence of remorse in your case and I have taken your plea into account in your favour in mitigation of sentence.
21You have no prior convictions, subsequent convictions or outstanding charges.
22A prosecution opening was read to the court in your case and tendered in evidence and your offending may be summarised as follows -
23Between May 2012 and March 2013, you trafficked a marketable quantity of methamphetamine. The precise quantity that you trafficked of that substance is unknown. On 5 March 2013, investigating police located 79 individual packages containing 122 grams of pure methamphetamine in your bedroom at your premises in Maribyrnong. Further, during the period of the trafficking charge, you transferred $243,402 to bank accounts in China. I am satisfied that during the period of the trafficking charge, you were engaged in the commercial distribution of methamphetamine for profit and your role in the syndicate was at a senior level.
24Between April 2010 and March 2012, you also transferred a total of $463,511 to bank accounts in China on 45 separate occasions and this conduct is relied upon by the prosecution in support of Charge 2 on the Indictment that you pleaded guilty.
25As I have already observed, persons such as you who engage in the trafficking of controlled drugs for profit must expect the imposition of substantial terms of imprisonment on conviction. You played an important role in the activities of a drug syndicate and the sentence that I impose must be calculated to deter you and others from offending in this way. You must also be punished for what you have done.
26I now turn to your personal circumstances. You were born on 12 December 1989 in China and you are now aged 25. You are also a youthful first offender. You began offending at the age of 20 and I accept that your immaturity played a part in your participation in these offences. Your family, comprising your parents and elder sister, reside in China. You arrived in Australia on a student visa in 2007 and studied for approximately 15 months. You then worked in a variety of unskilled occupations and were in breach of the student visa that you entered this country on. You began to use illegal drugs of dependence in approximately 2009 which in turn led you to associate with persons connected to your offending.
27I have received in evidence a report of Mr Warren Simmons, a consulting and forensic psychologist in relation to your background and psychological profile. Apart from the substance abuse disorder that you reported to him, it would appear that you do not suffer from any mental health issues. I accept, however, that you will experience a degree of hardship by reason of your isolation from your family and friends whilst imprisoned in Australia. You will be deported to China on your release from prison. I further accept that your prospects of rehabilitation may properly be described as good.
28Wanghao Hong, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of trafficking in a marketable quantity of a controlled drug, contrary to s.302.3.1 of the Criminal Code (Cth). The maximum penalty for that offence is 25 years' imprisonment or a fine of 5,000 penalty units or both. You have also pleaded guilty to one charge of dealing with money reasonably suspected of being the proceeds of crime to a value less than $100,000, contrary to s.400.9.1A of the Criminal Code (Cth). The maximum penalty for that offence is two years' imprisonment or a fine of 120 penalty units or both.
29You pleaded guilty following committal proceedings and subsequent negotiations with the prosecution. Your plea has also saved the community the costs and demands of a complex criminal trial. I also accept that your plea is evidence of remorse for your offending and I have taken it into account in your favour in mitigation of sentence.
30You have no prior convictions, subsequent convictions or outstanding charges.
31A prosecution opening was read to the court and tendered in evidence in your case and your offending may be summarised as follows -
32
Between May 2012 and March 2013, you trafficked in a marketable quantity of methamphetamine. The precise quantity of the substance that you trafficked is unknown. On
5 March 2013, investigating police located eight small plastic bags containing 88 grams of pure methamphetamine in your bedroom at your premises in Truganina.
33During the period of the trafficking charge, you transferred $88,593 to overseas bank accounts. I am satisfied that during the period of the trafficking charge, you were involved in the commercial distribution of methamphetamine for profit. You played an important role in the criminal activities of the syndicate but I am satisfied that your role was at the lower end of the hierarchy in the organisation and this characterisation accords with the way the case was put against you by the prosecution.
34In relation to Charge 2 on the Indictment, between May 2011 and November 2011, you transferred $63,000 to bank accounts in China. As I have already observed, trafficking in controlled drugs for profit is of the utmost seriousness and the sentence that I impose must be calculated to deter you and others from offending in this way. You must also be punished for your offending.
35I now turn to your personal circumstances. You were born on 24 November 1991 in China and you are now aged 23. You were 19 when your offending commenced and I accept that your youth and immaturity, in part, led you to offend. You were no doubt influenced by other members of the syndicate and you are the youngest of the accused before the court. You were 21 when you were arrested on 5 March 2013 and you have been on remand in an adult prison since that date. I accept that this has resulted in a further degree of hardship in your case.
36You arrived in Australia on a student visa in January 2008 and studied English at a school in Sydney before moving to Melbourne where you worked with your brother as a plasterer's labourer. You were in breach of the conditions of your visa prior to your offending commencing as you were no longer a student.
37Your counsel submitted that your offending was motivated to repay debts incurred by your family in paying for you to come to Australia. Whilst this may be so, it does not, in my opinion, significantly mitigate the seriousness of what you did. You will also be deported on your release from China and I accept that your prospects of rehabilitation may also be described as good.
38Junye Wu, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, contrary to s.11.5.1 and s.307.1.1 of the Criminal Code (Cth). The maximum penalty for that offence is life imprisonment or a fine of 7,500 penalty units or both. You pleaded guilty following committal proceedings but at that time you faced less serious charges than the charge to which you have now pleaded guilty. Your plea has spared the community the costs and demands of a complex criminal trial and I also accept that it is evidence of remorse in your case. I have taken your plea into account in your favour in mitigation of sentence.
39You have no prior convictions, subsequent convictions or outstanding charges.
40A prosecution opening was read to the court and tendered in evidence and your offending may be summarised as follows -
41Between 6 May 2012 and 13 November 2012, when you were arrested, you were party to an agreement to import a commercial quantity of methamphetamine and you performed a number of acts as a result of that agreement. In particular, you obtained the names and addresses of persons to whom packages were sent from China containing methamphetamine. You provided these addresses to your co-conspirators, enquired about the arrival of such packages and you transferred the sum of $78,960 to China during your charge period. Your role in the syndicate was an important one and a trusted one. During the period of your charge, 916.5 grams of pure methamphetamine was intercepted by investigating police.
42As I have already observed, offending of this nature is of the utmost seriousness. Methamphetamine is causing incalculable damage to our society and the sentence that I impose must be calculated to deter you and others from offending in this way and you must also be punished for what you have done.
43
I now turn to your personal circumstances. You were born in China on
12 October 1991 and are now aged 23. You come from a stable family in China who are apparently financially secure. You arrived in Australia in 2008 on a student visa and studied for two and a half years. Thereafter, you worked in various unskilled occupations before commencing a Diploma of International Business at RMIT in 2012. You met your co-accused, Huang, and thereafter your offending commenced.
44Following your arrest, you were remanded in custody and thereafter released on bail. You have continued to study whilst on bail and have completed your course and have become closely involved with the Catholic Church. Whilst on bail, you have complied with rigorous conditions. I accept that your prospects of rehabilitation may properly be described as very good and you are also to be sentenced as a youthful first offender. You will be deported to China on your release from prison. Whilst I accept that you will also suffer from a degree of isolation by reason of your imprisonment, the evidence before me in your case disclosed that you will have the support of the Catholic Church whilst you are incarcerated.
45As is clear from these reasons, you each entered Australia on student visas and with the exception of Junye Wu, you each pursued little or no meaningful study and resided in Australia illegally whilst engaged in drug trafficking and related criminal activity. It is the responsibility of the courts to protect our community from people like you and as I have said, to make it plain, the conduct that you each engaged in will be met with substantial terms of imprisonment on conviction.
46In arriving at an appropriate proportionate penalty in each of your cases, I have had regard to the provisions of the Crimes Act (Cth) 1914 and in particular, to the principal of parity in sentencing. In doing so, I have considered the roles that each of you played in the criminal activity of the syndicate that you were involved in. However, as I observed during the hearing of the plea in mitigation, it is not always possible to identify with precision the exact role played by an individual and the acts performed by him. Individuals perform tasks of a varying nature and quality and the hierarchy in a drug syndicate such as this is not fixed.
47I have also regard to the sentence imposed by Her Honour Judge Cannon on 22 July 2014 in the case of the Cth DPP v Daoshun Chen who was also a member of this syndicate but who pleaded guilty to offences relating to the laundering of the syndicate's money and possession of methamphetamine. He was not dealt with by Her Honour for offences of trafficking or conspiring to import methamphetamine.
48In the result, the sentence of the court is as follows -
49Liming Huang, on the charge of conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, you are convicted and sentenced to eight years' imprisonment.
50I direct that that sentence commence on 13 February 2016.
51In relation to the charge of dealing with money the proceeds of crime, you are convicted and sentenced to two years' imprisonment.
52I direct that that sentence commence this day, 13 February 2015.
53This makes for a total effective term of imprisonment of nine years.
54I direct that you serve seven years' imprisonment before becoming eligible for release on parole.
55But for your plea of guilty, I would have imposed a total effective term of imprisonment of 11 years and imposed a non-parole period of nine years.
56I declare that you have served 710 days' by way of pre-sentence detention, not including today.
57Ning Li, on the charge of conspiracy to import a marketable quantity of a border controlled drug, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for four years and six months. I direct that that sentence commence on 13 August 2015.
58On the charge of dealing with money or other property reasonably suspected of being the proceeds of crime, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for 12 months. I direct that that sentence commence this day, that is, 13 February 2015.
59This makes for a total effective term of imprisonment of five years.
60I direct that you serve three years' imprisonment before becoming eligible for release on parole.
61But for your plea of guilty, I would have imposed a total effective term of imprisonment of seven years and fixed a non-parole period of five years.
62I declare that you have served 710 days' by way of pre-sentence detention, not including today.
63Min Yu, on the charge of trafficking a marketable quantity of a controlled drug, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for six years. I direct that that sentence commence on 13 February 2016.
64On the charge of dealing with property reasonably suspected of being the proceeds of crime, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for two years. I direct that that sentence commence this day, that is, 13 February 2015.
65This makes for a total effective term of imprisonment of seven years.
66I direct that you serve five years' imprisonment before becoming eligible for release on parole.
67But for your plea of guilty, I would have sentenced you a total effective term of imprisonment of nine years and imposed a non-parole period of seven years.
68I declare that you have served 710 days' by way of pre-sentence detention, not including today.
69Wanghao Hong, on the charge of trafficking a marketable quantity of a controlled drug, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for four years and six months. I direct that that sentence commence on 13 May 2015.
70On the charge of dealing with money or other property reasonably suspected of being the proceeds of crime, you are convicted and sentenced to six months' imprisonment. I direct that that sentence commence this day, that is, 13 February 2015.
71This makes for a total effective term of imprisonment of four years and nine months.
72I direct that you serve two years' and nine months' before becoming eligible for release on parole.
73But for your plea of guilty, I would have sentenced you to a total effective term of imprisonment of six years and ordered a non-parole period of four years.
74I declare that you have served 710 days' by way of pre-sentence detention, not including today.
75Junye Wu, on the charge of conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for six years. I direct that that sentence commence this day, that is, 13 February 2015. I order that you serve three years' and nine months' imprisonment before becoming eligible for release on parole. But for your plea of guilty, I would have imposed a total effective term of imprisonment of eight years and fixed a non-parole period of six years. I declare that you have served 37 days' by way of pre-sentence detention, not including today.
76Are there any other orders required?
77MR PIRRIE: No. No, Your Honour.
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