Director of Public Prosecutions v Lam

[2015] VCC 1576

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

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 15-00686

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

TYLER LAM

---

JUDGE:	HER HONOUR JUDGE CANNON
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	11 September  2015
DATE OF SENTENCE:	9 November 2015
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Lam
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2015] VCC 1576

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
---

Subject:  CRIMINAL LAW

Catchwords:             Sentence – plea of guilty – Obtain property by deception – Failure to answer bail – relevant criminal history

Sentence:Convicted and sentenced to combined imprisonment and Community Corrections order – 14 months’ imprisonment and then 3 year Community Corrections Order with mandatory and other conditions – 247 days pre-sentence detention declared as having already been served – Ancillary orders – Compensation and Forensic Sample orders

---

APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Ms S. Flynn	Solicitor for Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Ms. P. Chaya	Victoria Legal Aid

HER HONOUR:

1Tyler Lam, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of obtaining property by deception, which has a maximum penalty of ten years' imprisonment.  The maximum penalty reflects the seriousness with which Parliament regards this offence.

2You have also pleaded guilty to the uplifted charge of failing to answer bail, which has a maximum penalty of 12 months' imprisonment.

3Your offending was opened as follows:

4The victim in this matter is Kim Teng Jong, who operated as a Junket Operator at The Star, a Casino in Sydney.

5Mr Jong had a working relationship with Zhao Yuan Pan, who also used the name of Simon Pan.  Simon Pan operated as a Junket Representative at Crown Casino.  A Junket Representative arranges people to gamble at a casino and the casino pays the operator a commission based on the amount that the person gambles at the premises. 

6Whilst working at Crown Casino, Mr Pan met you. 

7On Tuesday, 18 October 2011, Mr Pan was working at Crown Casino in the Mahogany Room, which was located on the first level.  He was speaking on the telephone to Mr Jong, who was overseas, about transferring $100,000 into Mr Jong’s account for the use of a customer to be funded by Mr Jong and
Mr Pan so as to offset outstanding credit at Star Casino.  You overheard part of this telephone conversation and approached Mr Pan.  You said to Mr Pan that you were happy to transfer the $100,000 to Mr Jong in exchange for $100,000 worth of gambling chips.  Mr Pan agreed to this as long as he could witness the internet transfer and be provided with a receipt of the transfer and a written agreement.

8You suggested that the two of you go to your hotel room and that your sister should also attend.  She was also in the Mahogany Room at that time and the three of you went to your room at Crown Towers, which I understand is a rather lavish hotel.  I was told however that Crown Casino provide accommodation for people at the casino who they expect will spend a good deal of money there.

9In your room, you accessed your computer.  You asked Mr Pan to turn away as you did not want him to see your password and personal details.  You indicated that you were moving $100,000 from your savings account into a business account first.  Mr Pan provided you with Mr Jong’s bank and account details.  You told Mr Pan that you had transferred the funds and showed him a NAB window screen indicating a transfer.  Mr Pan did not have a good look at it and asked you to print out the receipt for him.  You said that you did not have a printer in your room and that you would have to go downstairs with your sister to print it. You told Mr Pan to return to the Mahogany Room and wait for you there.  A few minutes later you came back and gave him a ‘receipt’.  This receipt indicated that $100,000 had been paid into Mr Jong’s account and appeared to be a genuine NAB document.

10Based on this, Mr Pan called Mr Jong and confirmed the transaction.  Mr Pan handed $100,000 worth of chips to you.

11The following day, that is Wednesday, 19 October 2011, Mr Pan contacted
Mr Jong, who said that the transfer had not arrived in his bank account.
Mr Pan spoke to you in the Mahogany Room and told you the money had not been transferred.  You said this was because it was such a large amount and that it would take two to three days.  You purported to call your bank manager, Vincent, in front of Mr Pan and said the Manager said it would take a couple of days.  Mr Pan asked you to write down an agreement with your Driver’s Licence details and you did so. 

12The following day, 20 October 2011, the funds had still not arrived.  Mr Pan again spoke to you in the Mahogany Room and you purportedly made another phone call to your bank manager, Vincent, and asked him to call Mr Pan.
Mr Pan said that Vincent should talk to his bank manager, Diana.

13The next day the funds had still not arrived.  Mr Pan spoke to you at Crown and called Mr Jong.  He handed the phone to you and you told Mr Jong that if the payment had not arrived by Monday, he would double the re-payment.

14On Saturday, 22 October 2011, Mr Pan spoke to you. You told him to make a time to see your bank manager in Adelaide on Monday.  You said you had made a time, an appointment for 1pm.

15On Sunday, 23 October 2011, you texted Mr Pan, indicating you were flying to Sydney on Monday.  Mr Pan reminded you of the appointment with the bank manager and you said you would meet Mr Pan in Adelaide.

16On Monday, 24 October 2011, Mr Pan flew to Adelaide.  He tried to contact you on your mobile phone but it was switched off. 

17Mr Jong arrived in Australia on either the Tuesday or the Wednesday.  Mr Pan knocked on your hotel room door at Crown Towers, but there was no answer.

18On Thursday, 27 October 2011, Mr Pan and Mr Jong spoke to a manager at Crown Casino and he told them to report the matter to the police.  Mr Pan went to Melbourne West Police Station and reported the matter.

19On Friday, 28 October 2011, you contacted Mr Pan and told him that you had been spoken to by the manager and that you were sorry.  You said that you would try to sell your car, but Mr Pan indicated that police would be involved.

20The money was never transferred to Mr Jong’s account. You never made any payment to address this situation.

21Subsequent investigation of your NAB account showed that the alleged transfer of $100,000 was rejected on 18 October 2011 at 1:29pm as it exceeded the daily transfer limit of $20,000 for the account. The account had a credit balance of $177.88 on that day so there were insufficient funds to transfer the $100,000 in any event.

22The NAB receipt provided to Mr Pan by you was examined by a senior investigator at NAB.  The document was originally generated to show that the transfer had been rejected on that particular date and time but was altered by you to falsely indicate that the payment was successful.

23On Sunday, 1 January 2012, you were arrested at Melbourne Airport and taken to the Melbourne West Police Station for interview.  During the interview, you  said the following things:

24That in September you met Simon, who belonged to a junket group in Crown Casino.  In about October you bought in for $20,000 and Simon gave you $20,000 worth of chips.  You said two to three days later you were prepared to buy in for another $100,000.  You explained to Simon that you had $100,000 sitting in your account and you were going to transfer that amount between your accounts.  (Q & A 15).

25You said that you conducted a transaction of $40,000 with Simon and that Simon told you that if you did another transfer with him he would be willing to pre-release the funds.  You said that you explained to Simon that your limit was not that high and you did not have the ability to transfer the funds to him. You said that Simon replied that this was fine, that he would lend you the money first (Q & A 24).

26You said Simon pre-released $35,000 for you and explained he wanted you to write a piece of paper explaining what had occurred and how much had been transacted.  You said that you saw Simon at Crown in November and passed him $22,500, so that you still owed about $15,000 (Q & A 24).

27The transaction occurred in your room at Crown and you said Simon asked whether he would be able to transfer $100,000 to borrow. You explained to Simon that you could not because you had a $20,000 limit (Q & A 73-74).  You said you transferred $100,000 between your accounts.

28You admitted printing out the internet transaction receipt but claimed it was a rejected transaction (Q & A 90, 92-96).

29You said that you printed that off because Simon needed it to present to Sydney (Q & A 101).

30When shown the handwritten piece of paper outlining the transaction, you claimed that it was your writing but not your signature and that you did not sign it (Q & A 138-143).

31When shown details of your four NAB bank accounts at the time, which had amounts of $13,278, you claimed to have another bank account.

32When the allegations were put to you, you said they were untrue and that you had explained to Simon that you were unable to make the transaction (Q & A 233)

33Police subsequently checked with player activity reports and records held at Crown Casino.  These checks revealed that the junket Mr Pan worked for was operated by Jifeng Zou.  Further, the records revealed that there was no record of you ever having played a junket operated by Mr Zou.

34You were charged and remanded by a bail justice.  You were released on bail by a Magistrate on 4 January 2012 and were to appear on 3 February 2012.  You failed to appear at Court on that date and a warrant was issued.  The warrant was executed on 13 March 2015.

35Mr Lam, your offending was of a fairly sophisticated nature and is serious in all of the circumstances. Further, you told a series of elaborate lies to the police, then failed to appear on bail when you were supposed to, apparently fleeing interstate where you continued to gamble on behalf of a syndicate. Your offending is deserving of a punishment which is just in all of the circumstances and your conduct must be denounced.

36You have relevant prior matters, most of  which were helpfully set out in a summary, which is Exhibit C.

37On 9 December 1996 you were given a 12 month good behaviour bond for one charge of theft.

38On 14 October 1998 you were convicted of one charge of burglary and five charges of theft, according to the criminal history record. These were said to have occurred at Crown Casino. You were sentenced to a total effective sentence of four months’ imprisonment, which was wholly suspended for two years. You breached this sentence by subsequent offending and on 12 February 2002, the four months’ imprisonment was wholly restored.

39On 12 February 2002 you were convicted of: 116 charges of obtaining property by deception; two charges of attempting to obtain property by deception; 76 charges of theft; one charge of possessing proceeds of crime; one charge of attempting to commit an indictable offence; one charge of obtaining a financial advantage by deception; make a false document as well as two traffic matters. You appealed the Magistrates’ Court sentence in respect of these matters which resulted in an aggregate sentence of
18 months’ imprisonment to be served cumulatively with the four months wholly restored so that you were sentenced to a total effective sentence of
22 months’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of 12 months’ imprisonment. You were also fined $500. The fraud matters were committed in the context of you having worked at the State Revenue Office as an assessor of stamp duty refunds. You then left this job and started a business which was not registered; you sent records to victims offering to help them with stamp duty refunds and later called them. You charged a fee to assist them to fill out the paperwork and would then call back to ask for more money for tax purposes. You never submitted the paperwork and only accepted cash payments. You also applied for credit cards online using details of people you use to work with. You also agreed to the sale of your car and accepted a $500 deposit but you then sold the car to someone else and kept the deposit. You had $2,800 when you were arrested. In respect of the theft charges, you attended a mobile phone company and arranged to on-sell the phones. You were given copies of contracts for your prospective customers but you filled these out with false details, which resulted in you receiving a mobile phone and SIM for the fictitious customer. You then sold the mobile phones for your own benefit and must have done so on 76 occasions.

40On 15 July 2002 you were dealt with for aggravated burglary where you and four co-offenders broke into a garage by removing tiles from the roof, intending to take $3000 which you believed was in the house. Fortunately, you were disturbed by a neighbour and you fled.  Although the basis for the aggravated burglary was said to be being in possession of an offensive weapon, this did not square with the Prosecution’s knowledge of the facts nor yours, so that it may well be that the basis for aggravation was in fact entering premises whilst being reckless as to a person being present.  In any event, you were sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment with six months of this suspended for 18 months, and the six months’ imprisonment to be served immediately was to be served concurrently with the sentence you were undergoing.

41On 10 May 2005, you were dealt with for making a false report to police. This was in respect of a false report of an armed robbery where you said you had your wallet taken by a number of youths who threatened you with a syringe. You were sentenced to three months’ imprisonment wholly suspended for
12 months but you breached this suspended sentence by further offending and on 3 November 2006, this term was wholly restored.

42On 3 November 2006, you were dealt with for seven charges of obtaining property by deception. This related to a bogus training scheme which you set up where you defrauded three males of $7750.00.  You were sentenced to an aggregate term of 12 months’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of six months’ imprisonment.

43This offending breached the suspended sentence imposed on 10 May 2005.

44On 17 January 2011 you were convicted of theft of a motor vehicle and fail to answer bail. The theft involved a hire car which you kept beyond the agreed 14 days and your credit card was declined in respect of the hire.

45Although not a prior conviction, as I understand it, it is relevant that on
11 March 2015 at the Adelaide Magistrates Court, you were convicted of deceiving another to benefit self, which was said to be the aggravated form of the offence.  This offence was committed on 15 December 2011. On that day you were also convicted of five charges of deceiving another to benefit self.  All of these offences were committed on 22 October 2014. Further, on
19 November 2014, you failed to comply with your bail agreement. You were sentenced to a total effective term of nine months, four weeks, which appears to have been wholly suspended for two years on condition that you were of good behaviour and there were also some other conditions. You were ordered to pay compensation of $1000 to each of two victims.

46Therefore, you have a fairly lengthy history and significant history relating to fraudulent conduct and you have also breached your bail obligations on two previous occasions.

47I was told that you committed the offence before me in the context of working with a gambling syndicate and having developed a gambling addiction. Even though a gambling addiction would not be mitigatory, there is no expert material which supports this submission. However, it was put forward as an explanation for your offending.  I was provided with the record of your gaming activity with Crown Casino, which indicates that the total ‘buy in’ sum for you in 2011 was $3,532,835 but that actual wins totalled $197,245. I was told that you were losing at the casino and needed $100,000 to buy into a game. I was also told that it was your intention to repay the money you took from Mr Pan as soon as you were able to win it back but that this never happened. I was also told that after this time you continued to work for the gambling syndicate. I must say that I have some difficulty with your account. Apart from anything else, in order to continue to work for the syndicate which apparently flew you interstate in order to do work for it, you must have been deriving funds from somewhere to continue to gamble. Further, at no time did you pay any sum back to the victim. I would have thought that such an apparently high flying syndicate would not be happy to have as a member, a gambling addict who constantly lost money for them. Anyway, at the end of the day, even if you were addicted to gambling, it does not mitigate your offending, and you never repaid the victim a cent. In all of the circumstances, your apology to the victim all those years ago to the victim rings rather hollow, especially when you told elaborate lies to the police, then fled the jurisdiction and committed further offences in Adelaide. I must say, Mr Lam, you have all the hallmarks of a con artist and I must be concerned to protect the community from you.

48I take into account your background.  You are 37 years old and estranged from your family. You were born in Norway but your parents were from Singapore. You and your family moved to Melbourne when you were four years old. Your parents separated at about this time and your mother raised you and your sister while your older half-brother lived with your father. Unfortunately, you saw your father infrequently after separation.

49Your mother moved around Australia with you but spent most time in Melbourne.  She worked in factories and was reliant on her extended family for support.

50In 1992 you finally settled in Melbourne and went to a private school in Toorak. which was paid for by your father, who was successfully running a business.

51In 1995, when you were 17, you completed Year 12 and started a degree at RMIT in international marketing. You also started a traineeship at Crown Casino.  Unfortunately, in 1996, you lost interest in your studies and started work as a dealer at the casino.  You also commenced gambling.

52In 1996 you were dealt with in respect of your first criminal offence.  I was told by your counsel that your first prior matter concerned you stealing a $20 gambling chip from the casino.

53In 1997 you commenced a relationship with a young woman which endured for the next 17 years on a sporadic basis. You have a child from that relationship, Tian Yi, who was born in Singapore in 2012.  Sadly, Tian Yi’s mother was killed in a car accident in 2014 and the child is being brought up by her grandparents. You have not had any direct contact with your child although you have communicated from time to time with her on Skype.

54In 1998 when you were 20, you worked as a compliance officer for an insurance company and gambled recreationally.  In that same year you were dealt with for the burglaries and thefts, which were said to have been committed at Crown Casino.

55Your counsel told me that you do not recall these burglaries and thefts.  I must say that I have some difficulty with your professed lack of memory.  I put these concerns to one side however.

56I was told that from 1999 to 2002 you continued to gamble and to work.  You also committed offences during this period, as is evident from your criminal history.

57I understand from the chronology, which was helpfully prepared by your counsel, that in 2003 you were released on parole after the sentences imposed the previous year and somehow, despite your criminal history as at that stage, you were made a team leader in client relations for a superannuation fund.

58In 2005, at the age of 27, you and a friend opened a clothing shop in Chinatown but you did not work there full time. I was told that you continued to gamble.

59In 2006 you were dealt with for further dishonesty offences, to which I have already referred. This related to the false training scheme rather than mobile phones as you had instructed your counsel. I was told that you committed these offences to make money to gamble.

60In 2007 you joined the gambling syndicate, and you made money for it. The syndicate flew you all over Australia, which suggests that you were rather good at what you did. I was told that your gambling addiction grew.

61In 2008 you sold the shop in Chinatown. The syndicate was based in Adelaide, so you moved there.  I was told that you also acquired hair dressing skills and that you worked as a hairdresser when you were not gambling.

62In 2011 you were dealt with for stealing the hire car and failing to answer bail. I was told that you were placed on a Community Based Order but the counselling which was imposed did not address your gambling ‘addiction’.  As I have said in discussion, Mr Lam, you were a grown man at that stage, and if you had an addiction to gambling then it was something that you could have sought help for, if the help that you received wasn’t the kind that helped you. I was not told of the material which was placed before the learned Magistrate in support of the submission that you had a gambling addiction.

63As I have previously said, I doubt that a gambling syndicate would have kept you on for as long as they did if you were hopelessly addicted to gambling, as opposed to gambling heavily in order to make a profit for it.

64In October 2011 you committed the offence for which I now sentence you.

65On 15 December 2011 you committed the aggravated form of deceiving another, where you stole $1000 from a person by the name of Ki Wong.

66On 1 January 2012 you were arrested at Melbourne Airport and you were released on bail on 4 January 2012 and, as I have said, were required to appear at Court on 3 February 2012.  However, you failed to appear and a warrant to arrest was issued.

67I was told that you fled to Adelaide, where you worked as a hairdresser and you continued to gamble with the syndicate.  It is apparent from the Adelaide criminal history record that you next offended in October 2014 with the five further deception charges. You failed to appear on 15 November 2014 in respect of these. You were arrested on 11 March this year.

68I am afraid that your criminal history and subsequent matters and the nature of the offending before me does not bode well for your prospects of rehabilitation.

69I was told that the gambling addiction course which you have undertaken whilst in prison has successfully addressed your difficulties. As I have said, I have some difficulty with the notion that you have a gambling addiction, but, if you did, then you no longer have it, I understand.  I put you on notice that your offending has a good deal to do with gambling on any view of things, and if you commit offences in future to fund gambling then this may well be regarded as an aggravating factor.

70I take into account that time in gaol whilst on remand has been a good deal harsher than might otherwise be the case since lockdown was imposed because of the MRC riots which commenced on 30 June this year. You were injured in the course of the riots even though you took no part in them.  In the initial days after lockdown commenced, you were living in very trying conditions and although these have now eased somewhat, or as at the date of the plea they had eased somewhat, you were still confined to your cell for
22 out of 24 hours a day.  You felt that your mental health was deteriorating and it was with this in mind that I arranged to make some representations to the prison authority to have you receive appropriate treatment.

71Before lockdown was imposed you had an ‘essential worker’ classification as a hairdresser, but this stopped when lockdown started.  As at the time of the plea hearing I was told that you had just started to work for two hours the day before.

72In your favour, I take into account your plea of guilty and the stage at which it was entered, although this has to be seen in light of the fact that you delayed finalisation of these proceedings by about four years. However, once arrested again, you entered a plea of guilty at an early stage, saving the witnesses the time and trouble of giving evidence and saving the community the time and expense of contested proceedings.  However, save for saying sorry to Mr Pan shortly after your fraudulent activity was detected, there is little evidence of remorse.  As I have previously said, your apology to him rings a little hollow in view of your subsequent conduct.  In all the circumstances, I am unable to find that you are remorseful, other than perhaps feeling sorry that you are now being held accountable for your criminal conduct.

73It is relevant to take into account the amount of money which you took from
Mr Pan, and I do so.  As there is no victim impact statement, I cannot say how this impacted upon him financially, however, it is a significant sum of money on any view of things.  On the other hand, frauds involving far greater sums of money and a good deal more deliberation over lengthier periods come before this Court fairly frequently.  I do not accept that this matter could, or at least, should have been dealt with in the Magistrates Court in view of your criminal history.

74Whilst on remand you have completed the Gamblers Help course and I have taken into account the positive matters set out in the letter from Banyule Improvement Council.  I also factor in that you continued to attend the group sessions after the course finished as you found it helpful to you and others.

75I was told that you do not wish to step inside a casino ever again, and that gaol has been a salutary experience for you this time around. You wish to work as a hairdresser and build a relationship with your daughter.

76These are all noble sentiments and resolutions, Mr Lam, but given your history and alacrity with which you have deceived people, the ‘proof will be in the pudding’. In all of the circumstances, I rate your prospects of rehabilitation as being fairly poor and I must place substantial weight on specific deterrence. I must also place significant weight on general deterrence and protection of the community.

77Your counsel submitted that a community corrections order, combined with a gaol term on the basis of time served, was appropriate in your case; or, if I was against this, then a disposition of this kind but not on the basis of time served. The prosecution submitted that a community corrections order plus a gaol term was within the range in your case, but that time served would not be sufficient.  These were the submissions made at the original plea hearing.

78I arranged for a Community Corrections assessment of you with a detailed report to be prepared, as I wish to impose some conditions restricting your movement near the casino and other gaming venues.  Such a restriction was suggested by your counsel on your behalf.

79The assessment is now to hand and a further plea was conducted earlier today.  Mr Lam, I am most concerned that you are unwilling to accede to the electronic monitoring condition.  Your remark in the report that you thought this was a waste of taxpayers’ money was fulsome, to say the least, and reflects an attitude which is most unhelpful. I was told by your counsel this morning that you are concerned with the stigma attached to wearing a monitoring device, apparently seeing your criminality in a superior bracket to that of others who are required to wear such devices. With your history of failing to answer bail and your gambling propensities, wearing such a device would be entirely beneficial to the community and to you. Further, Community Corrections have not been able to contact your mother at the address which you proffered as being your intended residence upon release from gaol.

80Your attitude towards these conditions does little to instil me with confidence as to your prospects of rehabilitation I must say.

81The prosecution submitted that in view of your lack of consent to the proposed condition of electronic monitoring, the appropriate disposition was a lengthier gaol term than might otherwise be the case and without a community corrections order. Your counsel submitted that you ought receive the benefit of a gaol term in addition to a community corrections order, absent the electronic monitoring condition.

82You have now served 247 days on remand, much of which has been served in trying conditions, which I have factored in as I have said.

83I must say that I have been strongly tempted to impose a gaol term without the benefit of a community corrections order in all of the circumstances, especially your attitude towards electronic monitoring.  However, you are still a relatively young man, although you are getting to your “middle age” category and although you have poor prospects of rehabilitation, I regard it as being in the interests of the community and in your own interests to attempt to reclaim you.  However, I make it very clear that if you do not abide by all of the terms and conditions of the community corrections order upon your release from gaol, then you face the very real prospect of being re-sentenced by me to a lengthier sentence without any community corrections order attached.  I accept the submission by the prosecution, however, that time served in combination with a community corrections order is not adequate, which will be reflected in the sentence that I impose.

84Would you please sand up, Lam?

85You are convicted of the offence on the indictment and of the summary offence.

86In respect of the charge on the indictment you are sentenced to a term of imprisonment in combination with a community corrections order.  I will first tell you the proposed conditions of the community corrections order, as I can only impose this order if you consent to its terms:

87The community corrections order would run for a period of three years.

88The conditions of the community corrections order would be as follows.  The mandatory terms that apply to all community corrections orders would apply to this and they are as follows:

89You must not commit another offence for which you could be imprisoned during the time that the order is in force;

90You must comply with any obligation or requirement prescribed by regulation 17 of the Sentencing Regulations 2011;

91You must report to, and receive visits from, the Secretary to the Department of Justice or his or her delegate;

92You must report to the Dandenong Community Corrections Centre before
4.00pm and within two clear working days of your release from gaol;

93You must let a Community Corrections officer know within to clear working days of you changing your address or job;

94You must not leave Victoria without first obtaining permission to do so from the Secretary to the Department of Justice or his or her delegate; and

95You must obey all lawful instructions from and directions of the Secretary to the Department of Justice or his or her delegate.

96The conditions that apply in addition to the mandatory terms listed are:

97Community Work

98You must undergo 300 hours of unpaid community work within the first
12 months of the order.

99Supervision

100You must be under the supervision of a Community Corrections Officer for a period of  three years.

101Treatment and Rehabilitation

102You must undergo assessment and treatment (including testing) for drug abuse or dependency as directed by the Regional Manager.  I impose this condition as a result of matters in the report and concerning your abuse of drugs in the past.

103You must undergo programs or courses aimed at addressing factors relating to the offending as directed by the Regional Manager.  In particular, you must undergo assessment and treatment, if deemed necessary for gambling addiction.

104Residual Condition/s

105Further, for the duration of the community corrections order, you are prohibited from attending any gambling or gaming venue and you are further prohibited from associating with any members of any gambling syndicate or gambling junket

106Do you understand the terms and conditions of the proposed order?

107ACCUSED:  Yes, Your Honour.

108HER HONOUR:  Do you consent to the terms and conditions of the order?

109ACCUSED:  I do but just one thing is that Dandenong is a little bit too far from (indistinct).

110HER HONOUR:  That was the office that was proposed, as I understand, in the report. 

111Was it Werribee, was it:  Yes, all right.  I will change that to Werribee.  If that is - is that closer?

112ACCUSED:  No, that is even further.  Is there one in the city, Your Honour?

113HER HONOUR:  Just one moment.  Just take a seat. 

114I should tell you that if you do not comply with all of the requirements of this CCO then you will face breach proceedings before me. You will be sentenced in relation to the breach and you will be re-sentenced in relation to the charges-in which case you may well be sentenced to gaol. I would regard a breach of the CCO as a most serious matter, whether it be because of further offending or because of non-compliance with any of the other conditions of the order.

115Do you understand this? Do you maintain your consent to the order?

116I will have your Counsel approach the dock to help you sign the order.

117In respect of count one on the indictment you are further sentenced to a term of 12 months imprisonment.

118In respect of the summary charge of failing to answer bail, you are sentenced to 6 months’ imprisonment, 2 months of which is to be served cumulatively with the sentence on count one on the indictment, producing a TES of 14 months’ imprisonment to be served before the CCO is to commence.

119I make the order for compensation in the sum of $100,000 payable to Kim Jong, as set out in the draft order and I make a forensic sample order for the taking of salvia from the mouth because of the seriousness of the offending, because the order is not opposed, because of your prior convictions and because it is in the public interest to make the order. If you do not comply with the sample taking procedure then reasonable force may be used to ensure compliance.

120If not for your pleas of guilty I would have sentenced you to a TES of 4 years gaol with a non-parole period of 3 years.

121I declare you have already served 247 days pre-sentence detention which will be reckoned as already having been served.  Ms Chaya.

122MS CHAYA:  Yes, Your Honour.

123HER HONOUR:  I was told Dandenong Correctional Services would be the one that would be closest to Your Honour.

124MS CHAYA:  Yes, Your Honour.

125HER HONOUR:  Could you please go and obtain some instruction from him?

126MS CHAYA:  Certainly.

127HER HONOUR:  As to where he proposes to live upon his release?

128MS CHAYA:  Yes, Your Honour.

129HER HONOUR:  And we can work out things from there.

130MS CHAYA:  Thank you, Your Honour.  Thank you for that time, Your Honour.  It is just a matter of accessing by public transportation.  He says that it is easier to access the city Community Corrections by public transport than it is to attend the Dandenong office.

131HER HONOUR:  There is not a city one.  I think there might be one in Parkville or Carlton.

132COUNSEL:  Carlton, Your Honour.

133MS CHAYA:  Yes, Carlton.  Thank you, Your Honour.  Yes, he is indicating that that would be easier for him.

134HER HONOUR:  That would be easier to access.  All right, Madam Prosecutor, do you have anything to say?

135COUNSEL:  No, Your Honour.

136HER HONOUR:  All right then, I will vacate that aspect of the proposed conditions and instead put Carlton Community Corrections, all right.

137MS CHAYA:  Thank you, Your Honour.

138HER HONOUR:  Subject to that change, you understand the terms and conditions of the order?

139ACCUSED:  Yes, Your Honour.

140HER HONOUR:  All right, and so it will be the Carlton Community Corrections Service that you would have to report to within two clear working days of your release from gaol.  You understand that?

141ACCUSED:  Yes.

142HER HONOUR:  All right.  What I am going to have to do is wait until my associate comes back to amend the terms of the order, but I will tell you this in the meantime.  I should tell you that if you do not comply with all the requirements of the community corrections order then you will face brief proceedings before me.  You will then be sentenced in relation to the breach and you will be re-sentenced in relation to the charge, in which case you may well be sentenced to a period of imprisonment.  I would regard a breach of the community corrections order as a most serious matter, whether it be because of further offending or because of non-compliance with any of the other conditions of the order.  Do you understand this, Mr Lam?

143ACCUSED:  Yes, Your Honour.

144HER HONOUR:  And do you maintain your consent to the proposed order?

145ACCUSED:  Yes.

146HER HONOUR:  All right.  Then I will in due course have your counsel approach the dock to help you sign the order.  I will indicate to you, or I will proceed with my sentencing remarks.

147In respect of Count 1 on the indictment you are further sentenced to a term of 12 months' imprisonment.  In respect to the summary charge of failing to answer bail, you are sentenced to six months' imprisonment, two months of which is to be served cumulatively with the sentence from the charge on the indictment, producing a total effective sentence of 14 months' imprisonment.  So it is after that 14 months period that you are to commence the Community Corrections order.

148I make an order for compensation in the sum of $100,000 payable to Kim Jong as set out in the draft order and I make a forensic sample order for the taking of saliva from the mouth because of the serious of the offending, because the order is not opposed, because of your prior convictions and because it is in the public interest to make the order.  If you do not comply with the sample taking procedure then I must warn you that reasonable force may be used to ensure compliance.

149If not for your pleas of guilty I would have sentenced you to a total effective sentence of four years gaol with a non-parole period of three years.  I declare that you have already served 247 days by way of pre-sentence detention, which will be reckoned as already served.

150Take a seat for a moment, please.

151Is there anything arising out of that before - - -

152COUNSEL:  No, Your Honour.

153HER HONOUR:  All right.  Thank you.  Anything further, counsel?

154COUNSEL:  No, Your Honour.

155HER HONOUR:  Yes, thank you, you may remove Mr Lam.

156COUNSEL:  If the court pleases.

- - -