Director of Public Prosecutions v Nelson

[2021] VCC 2123

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

AT MELBOURNE

CRIMINAL DIVISION

CR 21-02251

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

JASON NELSON

---

JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE HOLDING
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	19 November 2021
DATE OF SENTENCE:	17 December 2021
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Nelson
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2021] VCC 2123

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
---

Subject:Criminal Law – Sentencing.

Catchwords:              Plea of guilty – criminal record – theft – attempted armed robbery – reckless conduct endangering life – possession of a firearm – causing injury recklessly – possession of a drug of dependence – summary offences – deterrence – offending whilst on bail – unsophisticated – circumstances of Covid-19 taken into account.

Legislation Cited:      Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) s 74(1), s 321M, s 75A, s 22, s 18, s 465; Firearms Act 1996 (Vic) ss 112B, s 14, ss 112D, ss112E, s 151; Drugs, Poisons, and Controlled Substances Act 1981 (Vic) s 73(1); Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) s 18(4), s 6AAA; Confiscation Act 1997 (Vic) s 78(1).

Cases Cited:DPP v Dalgliesh [2017] 262 CLR 428.

Sentence:                  A total effective sentence of 7 years and one month’s imprisonment with 5 years to be served before becoming eligible for parole. Convicted and fined a total of $750.00.

---

APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr M. Wilson	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Mr T. Sawyer	Theo Magazis & Associates.
(for plea)
Mr S. Parker (for sentence)

HIS HONOUR:

Introduction

1Jason Nelson, you have pleaded guilty to:

(a) One charge of theft contrary to s 74(1) of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) with a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment and/or fine of 1200 penalty units;

(b) One charge of attempted armed robbery contrary to s 321M and s 75A of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) with a maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment;

(c) One charge of reckless conduct endangering life contrary to s 22 of the Crimes Act (Vic) with a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment;

(d) One charge of possessing a firearm or firearm-related item in contravention of a firearm prohibition order contrary to s 112B of the Firearms Act 1996 (Vic) with a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment;

(e) One charge of causing injury recklessly contrary to s 18 of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) with a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment and/or a fine of 600 penalty units;

(f) One charge of possession of a drug of dependence contrary to s 73(1) of the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 (Vic) with a maximum penalty in the circumstances of this case of a fine of 5 penalty units

2You have also pleaded guilty to the related summary charges that have been put before this court, namely the following offences:

(a)   On   6 April 2021 at Kangaroo Flat and Bundoora , commit an indictable offence whilst on bail; and

(b)   Between  6 and  7 April 2021 at Kangaroo Flat and Bundoora , drive an unregistered motor vehicle; and

(c)   On 6 and 7 April at Bundoora fraudulently using registration plates.

3You have admitted your prior criminal record.

Circumstances of the offending

4The circumstances of your offending are detailed in the prosecution opening which was exhibited on the plea.[1] I act upon the facts as outlined in the opening, which were not disputed by you. I will briefly summarise those circumstances and the prosecution opening should be read in conjunction with these remarks.

[1] The prosecution opening and chronology is Exhibit 1 on the plea.

5You were born on 1 November 1976 and were aged 44 and unemployed at the time of the offending. You are aged 45 at the time of sentencing.  You are a member of the Mongols Outlaw Motorcycle Gang and currently in a de facto relationship with Ms Amber Barnes.  At the time of the offending, you both lived together at the Mongols' clubhouse at 4/128 Bertie Street, Port Melbourne.

6The principal victim in this matter is Andrew McCrae, aged 38, who lived at a house in Bundoora.  The victim did not know you or the co-accused.

Chronology of offending

Offences on 6 April 2021

7On Tuesday 6 April 2021 at about 2.45 pm you drove a black 2003 Mercedes-Benz CLK500 (bearing registration plates 1FR 5YC) into a BP petrol station at 172 High Street, Kangaroo Flat.  You filled the fuel tank with petrol to the value of $90.35, cleaned the front windscreen and inspected the engine.  You then reversed to the air pump, filled the tyres with air and then drove off along High Street without making any attempt to pay for the petrol.  This is the charge of theft.  You were on bail at the time [2] you committed this offence and therefore committed the further offence of  having committed an  indictable offence whilst on bail.

[2] It is not in dispute that the accused was placed on bail on 31 July 2020 in respect of drug charges (see FN 4, prosecution opening).

8The Mercedes was unregistered as its correct registration number, 'MONGLS', (which was registered in the name of a Shane Scott Bowden)  had expired on 23 May 2015.  Your driving of this vehicle constitutes the offence of driving an unregistered motor vehicle.  The registration plates 1FR 5YC displayed on the Mercedes in fact related to a silver 2001 Hyundai Elantra previously owned by a lady who had sold the Hyundai to Melbourne Wide Auto on 3 March 2021.  The use of those registration plates on the Mercedes constitutes the summary charge of fraudulently use registration plates.

Offences on 7 April 2021

9On Wednesday 7 April 2021 at 10.43 am you drove the unregistered Mercedes still bearing 1FR5YC plates to Balaka Place, Bundoora.  At the time Michael McDonald was accompanying you in the front passenger seat.  Mr McDonald is alleged by the Crown to be your co-offender in the events that followed. However, it is to be noted that as of the date of your plea hearing Mr McDonald had not pleaded guilty to these offences and had a contested committal hearing pending. 

10You parked the Mercedes near a milk bar, close to a T-intersection where Balaka Place meets Grimshaw Street.  Mr McCrae's home is on the north side of Grimshaw Street just to the east of the T-intersection and was visible from the location where you parked.

11You and Mr McDonald got out of the car.  Mr McDonald was wearing a yellow fluoro vest and carrying a dark coloured satchel bag.  You removed a small satchel bag from the car and then placed it back in the car.

12You spoke on your phone, whilst Mr McDonald remained nearby.  You pointed and gestured in the direction of Mr McCrae's house.

13At 10.51 am Mr McDonald crossed to the north side of Grimshaw Street.  At 10.54 am he walked past Mr McRae's house and then returned to where you were with the parked car.  You watched McDonald do this.  At 10.55 am you both got back in the car and left the area.

14At 11.03 am you returned to the same place near the milk bar and got out of the car.  At 11.05 am you and Mr McDonald crossed Grimshaw Street together and then walked into McCrae's front yard.

15An operational CCTV camera was positioned on the exterior patio area adjacent to the front door of Mr McCrae's residence.  The footage captured by this camera  shows the next sequence of events.  You walked to the front door whilst Mr McDonald walked down the driveway towards the rear yard.  Mr McDonald stopped in the driveway, a few metres to the side of the front door.  You then walked away from the front door, towards Mr McDonald and you both began walking towards the rear yard, when Mr McCrae opened the front door and said 'Hey'.  You immediately returned to the front door, while Mr McDonald remained in the driveway a few metres away in clear view of Mr McCrae.  The following conversation then occurred:

(a)   Jason Nelson:  'How you doing? You're Jeff, right?'

(b)   Mr McCrae:  'No, no Jeff here man.'

(c)   Jason Nelson:  'Just you?'

(d)   Mr McCrae:  'I'm Andrew.'

(e)   Jason Nelson:  'Andrew?  Ah, okay, there's no other guy here?'

(f)    Mr McCrae:  'Just Andrew McCrae and Belinda Stevens.'

(g)   Jason Nelson:  'Ah, okay.'

(i)You then turn away in the direction of Mr McDonald.  While you are turned away, you remove a handgun from your jacket pocket and whilst still turned away, say to Mr McCrae, 'All right, um, can you do us a favour?'

(h)   Mr McCrae:  'Certainly can.'

(i)Mr McCrae then looks up towards you.  You then use your right hand to point a handgun directly at Mr McCrae's head, less than a metre away, and the conversation continues.

(i)    Jason Nelson:  'Can you give us the choof, cunt?  Get the choof.'

(j)    Mr McCrae:  'I've only got a tiny, tiny' - - -

(k)   Jason Nelson:  'Don't fuck around with me.  I'm not joking.'

(l)    Mr McCrae:  'I swear to God I'm not.'

(m)     Jason Nelson:  'Get inside.'  You then move the barrel of the handgun from pointing at McCrae's head to pointing towards the front door and then back to McCrae's head, gesturing with the handgun for McCrae to go inside the house.

16These events constitute the offences of attempted armed robbery and possessing the firearm while subject to firearm prohibition order.

17Mr McCrae, who had armed himself with two Champagne bottles that were right near the front door, threw the first bottle at you.  In trying to avoid being hit by the bottle you moved the handgun from pointing at Mr McCrae's head so that gun was now pointed at the ground.  Mr McCrae threw the second bottle towards you.  You ducked under it, as you moved toward the side fence in the driveway.  Mr McDonald turned and ran down the driveway towards the road as this occurred.

18As you moved towards the side fence, you racked the handgun and began to raise it, with your finger on the trigger.  Mr McCrae ran towards you and in close proximity lunged at you.  At that point the gun discharged with the bullet only narrowly missing Mr McCrae.  These events constitute the reckless conduct endangering life.  Immediately after the discharge of the firearm you hit Mr McCrae in the head with the handgun, which fell onto the driveway.  A spent ammunition casing was later found at the scene, as described below.

19Mr McCrae was on the ground grabbing at your leg whilst you struggled with him.

20Mr McDonald ran over and grabbed the handgun from the ground and then tried to assist you in your struggle with Mr McCrae.

21You kicked Mr McCrae and wrestled with him on the ground.  Mr McDonald helped drag Mr McCrae off you and then wrestled with Mr McCrae himself.  Mr McDonald and Mr McCrae fell to the ground with Mr McDonald on top of Mr McCrae and punching him, whilst you kicked him.  Mr McCrae sustained bruising and swelling to his head and right eye and grazing to his left foot and left knee as a result of you both assaulting him.  This constitutes the recklessly cause injury charge.

22You and Mr McDonald then got up and walked back across Grimshaw Street to the parked Mercedes and then drove away.  Meanwhile Mr McCrae ran back inside his house.

23Various witnesses reported hearing gunshots, (although it is not in dispute there was only a single discharge of the gun), and seeing three men fighting in the driveway.  One witness described two men, consistent with you and Mr McDonald, kicking and punching a third man in the driveway.

24Police attended Mr McCrae's house shortly afterwards and located a fired cartridge case on the ground in the front yard near the front middle window, about halfway between the front door and the side fence.  A ballistics expert confirmed that the cartridge was from a .32 automatic calibre Remington (Union Metallic Cartridge Co) brand centrefire, and that cartridges of this type are suitable for use in .32 automatic calibre pistols.

25At about 4.35 pm on 7 April 2021 officers from the Victoria Police National Anti-Gangs Squad began observations near the Mongols clubhouse at 4/128 Bertie Street, Port Melbourne following information that you had been identified from CCTV in relation to the Bundoora shooting incident.  Officers were tasked to keep a look out for a black Mercedes.

26At approximately 6.30 pm that day officers observed a black Mercedes driving north in Bertie Street with partial registration plate 1FR.  The car parked facing north in Bertie Street.  You exited the driver seat, opened the boot and removed the rear registration plate from the vehicle.  You returned to the driver's seat and drove north on Bertie street, making a right-hand turn into the driveway of 128 Bertie Street.

27At 9.00 pm members from the Special Operations Group attended 4/128 Bertie Street, Port Melbourne, and you were arrested.

28Police executed search warrants at this address under s 146 of the Firearms Act 1996 (Vic) and s 465 of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic), locating the following items:

(a)   A 2003 black Mercedes parked in the driveway of the premises;

(b)   A clear plastic container containing cannabis inside the premises near the entrance on top of a bin.  This constitutes the charge of possession of a drug of dependence;

(c)   Two VicRoads registration plates bearing lFR 5YC on the ground floor of the premises on top of a pool table;

(d)   A black jacket with a white North Face logo, located on the first floor of the premises in the lounge room on the couch.  This was the jacket you were wearing during the Bundoora offending;

(e)   A black imitation firearm on the first floor of the premises on top of a shelf at the top of the stairwell.  You are not charged in relation to this item although it is agreed the item will be forfeited by consent;

(f)    Brass knuckledusters on the ground floor of the premises in the bar area.  You are not charged in relation to this item although again there is agreement the item is to be forfeited by consent.

29You were taken to Melbourne West police station for interview.  You exercised your rights to make a no comment record of interview.

30You were subsequently charged with the offences before the court and pleaded guilty at the committal mention stage.  I will refer in more detail to the timing of your plea later in these reasons.

Personal circumstances

31You are 46 years old and you were born in Fitzroy.  You grew up in the Wattle Glen area.  You have two younger sisters who are now aged 43 and 42.  You never met your father and did not know him in any significant way.  You were raised by your mother and it has been put by your counsel that you have a good relationship with her and your siblings, although you have had limited contact with them in recent years.

32You attended Wattle Glen Primary School and Hurstbridge Secondary School and until Year 8.

33You left home when you were 14 years old as a consequence of difficulties you experienced with your mother's relationships.  You never had a consistent father figure in your life.

34Upon leaving home you went to live in Aireys Inlet for approximately one year, where you undertook general manual work.  You were able to obtain labouring work through the father of a school friend.  You describe yourself as 'mentally older' than many of your school friends.  Through this work you gained some income which allowed you to move into share accommodation; however, this  was generally unstable.

35When you were 16 years of age you were introduced to martial arts (jujitsu), which became a passion.  You trained every day and entered national competitions and taught across Victoria.  You obtained some income in teaching martial arts and then working in the security industry.  Your involvement with martial arts continued until the age of approximately 23 years.

36You then went to work in the construction industry for the next six years, mainly in concreting.  You did well and commenced working in your own right as a concreter.  You established contracts which resulted in work with a company called Relux Slabs, for which you worked for four years.

37You met your ex-wife Rachel in approximately 2004.  She was aware of your past and encouraged you to remain out of trouble, which you did between 2005 and 2013.  Whilst married to Rachel, you continued to work in the construction industry and she worked as a hairdresser.

38You had two children from the relationship, who are now 15 years and 9 years of age.  You and your ex-wife separated in 2012 and eventually divorced.  You maintained a reasonable relationship with your ex-wife and saw your children by arrangement with Rachel.

39At the time of your arrest you were in a relationship with Ms Amber Barnes and were living at various unstable places of accommodation, including the clubhouse in Port Melbourne.

40It is not in dispute that you have a number of relevant prior convictions.  Of particular concern is your last prior conviction, recorded on 20 October 2015 for offences including armed robbery, possession of drugs of dependence, theft of a motor vehicle, dealing in property suspected of being proceeds of crime and being a non-prohibited person possessing a firearm.  The armed robbery involved you producing a handgun in a milk bar and pointing it at the attendant's face and demanding money.  You received a sentence of four years' imprisonment for that charge with a non-parole period of two years and six months.  It is of significance that you have effectively repeated that serious criminal conduct in this case by again pointing a firearm in the face of a victim and making a demand that he provide you with cannabis.

41Your criminal history dates back to the year 2000 and in addition to the armed robbery referred to above involves motor traffic offences, failing to appear on bail on a number of occasions, charges of assault, theft, theft of a motor vehicle, and possession of drugs of dependence.

42Your counsel stated in written submissions, 'that neither alcohol nor drugs' played a part your current offending.  He conceded during the plea hearing that given your criminal history and the current offences before the court your prospects of rehabilitation should be viewed as 'guarded'.  I accept that as an accurate description of your prospects of rehabilitation.

43This is a serious instance of the offence of attempted armed robbery.  It involved some pre-planning and surveillance of the premises for a short period of time before the commission of the offence.  The evidence does not reveal how you formed the view that Mr McCrae possessed cannabis; however, the circumstances of the offence make it clear that somehow you came to that belief and embarked upon a plan to steal the cannabis from Mr McCrae at gunpoint.

44You did so in company.  It was part of the plan to attend at Mr McRae's front door and threaten him with a gun.  A person is entitled to feel safe in their own home and it is of concern that Mr McRae was threatened at gunpoint as a result of simply opening his front door to respond to what appeared to be an innocent enquiry.  You were intimidating.  No doubt you hoped that you would receive passive compliance with your threats and that Mr McCrae would be reluctant to report to the police the theft of an illegal drug.

45Mr McCrae's quick decision to repel your attack by throwing Champagne bottles at you and struggling with you was clearly an action he was entitled to take in trying to defend himself.  In the course of that struggle you racked the firearm and the gun discharged in very dangerous circumstances.  The prosecution concede that the evidence does not establish that you fired the gun intentionally and I will not sentence you on that basis.  It was, however, an extremely dangerous and uncontrolled situation.  Your plea of guilty to the charge or reckless endangerment  acknowledges that by racking the gun, with your finger on the trigger when Mr McCrae was in such close proximity, were actions that would have caused a reasonable person to have realised in performing the same actions that there was an appreciable risk that Mr McCrae was placed, or may have been placed, at risk of death.  It also acknowledges that you foresaw the probability that your actions created an appreciable risk of death to Mr McCrae.

46After the discharge of the gun, Mr McCrae was assaulted by you and Mr McDonald.  He was punched a number of times and you kicked him a number of times.  Mr McCrae sustained the injuries referred to above.

47At the time of the commission of these offences you were subject to a 10-year firearm prohibition order issued pursuant to ss 112D and 112E of the Firearms Act1996 (Vic). That order was served upon you on 31 July 2020. Item 1 on the schedule to that order clearly states that it is an offence punishable by a penalty of 10 years' imprisonment for you to possess a firearm. You had only served eight months of that 10-year prohibition period when you possessed this handgun. The possession by you of the handgun whilst prohibited by this notice constitutes a separate aspect of criminality from the use of the handgun in the attempted armed robbery. There is, however, an overlap in possessing the handgun in contravention of the order and the use of the handgun in the attempted armed robbery. I will be mindful not to impose double punishment in relation to this overlapping aspect.

48Your counsel  has submitted that your scheme was 'poorly planned and unsophisticated'.  They point to the fact that you did not disguise yourself and that you lost control of the situation soon after pointing the gun at Mr McCrae at his front door.  I do not accept that the failure to successfully carry out your plan and the fact that you were able to be identified from the CCTV footage are circumstances of mitigation.  The fact that nothing was stolen is reflected in the charge being one of attempted armed robbery as opposed to armed robbery and, whilst a greater level of sophistication might be regarded as an aggravating feature, the fact that your plan went awry because of the actions of the victim is not in my view a circumstance of mitigation.

49The defence has submitted that you are entitled to significant amelioration of your sentence on the basis that you have pleaded guilty at an early stage in the circumstances of the pandemic and that your period on remand up until the time of sentence has been impacted by the harsher conditions of imprisonment resulting from restrictions imposed in order to combat the spread of the virus.  I accept this submission.  It appears there was some negotiation relating to overlapping charges under the Firearms Act 1996 (Vic), but it was conceded by the prosecutor during the plea hearing that you offered to plead guilty at an early stage to the charges that are ultimately before me.

50The  Victorian Court of Appeal has stated that a plea of guilty entered during the time of the pandemic is relevant in two ways.  First, it has unprecedented utilitarian benefit, given the significant backlog of cases in this court as a result of the cessation of jury trials during the pandemic; and, secondly, there is an increased risk of custodial hardship.  I accept that you have already suffered some of that custodial hardship in serving your period on remand and may also suffer some hardship in the future.  I also accept that your plea of guilty is reflective of some level of remorse.  I will take all of these matters into consideration in ameliorating your sentence.

51I should also indicate that during the plea hearing the learned prosecutor conceded that it is open for me to be satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the cannabis located in the clubhouse in which you were residing at the time was not possessed by you for any purpose related to trafficking.  I am so satisfied and will impose a penalty in relation to that charge that is consistent with that finding.

52In relation to the theft of petrol and motor traffic offences, obviously these matters are less serious than the circumstances surrounding your dealings with Mr McCrae; it is, however, the fact that you do have a relevant criminal history for similar types of offending.

53The sentence that I impose upon you must denounce your serious criminal offending.  General deterrence and protection of the community are important aspects of the sentence that I must impose.  Choosing to confront someone in their own home and threatening them with a loaded firearm must be deterred.  Endangering others by reckless conduct with a loaded firearm is serious criminality.  Compliance with firearm prohibition notices is an important public policy that must be promoted by deterring those who flagrantly disregard such notices.  Your conduct in the context of your prior criminal history is also deserving of a sentence that specifically deters you from future criminal conduct.

54Your offending was committed whilst on bail, which displaces the normal presumption of concurrency in the imposition of sentences in respect of the individual charges.  Nevertheless it is agreed that I must carefully apply the principle of totality and impose a sentence that is not crushing upon you and that allows for your rehabilitation.  I must also ensure that your sentence is appropriate for the whole of your offending and that any orders for cumulation must be moderated to the extent necessary to give effect to this principle.  In addition I will take into account that most of the serious criminality occurred in the one continuous episode of relatively short duration.

55The prosecutor Mr Wilson has provided the court with comprehensive and detailed submissions as to the appropriate sentence and has referred me to a number of 'comparable cases'.  I have carefully reviewed these submissions and cases bearing in mind that comparative cases are not precedents and each case has its own individual features.  In undertaking that task I have been mindful that current sentencing practices is only one of a number of matters which must be taken into account in exercising the sentencing discretion.[3]

[3] DPP v Dalgliesh [2017] 262 CLR 428.

56Having carefully considered all the relevant matters in this case and weighed the various sentencing considerations, I sentence you as follows.

57On Charge 1, theft, you are convicted and sentenced to two months' imprisonment.

58On Charge 2, attempted armed robbery, you are convicted and sentenced to five years and two months' imprisonment.  This is the base sentence.

59On Charge 3, reckless conduct endangering life, you are convicted and sentenced to two years and 10 months' imprisonment.

60On Charge 4 of possessing a firearm in contravention of a firearm prohibition order you are convicted and sentenced to two years and four months' imprisonment.

61On Charge 5 of causing injury recklessly you are convicted and sentenced to four months' imprisonment.

62On Charge 6 of possession of cannabis you are convicted and fined $400.

63On the summary offence of committing an offence whilst on bail[4] you are convicted and sentenced to one month's imprisonment.

[4] Recorded in the Court orders as Summary charge 18 

64On the summary offence of driving an unregistered vehicle[5] you are convicted and fined $350.

[5] Recorded in the Court orders as Summary charge 19

65On the summary offence of fraudulently using registration plates[6] you are convicted and sentenced to one month's imprisonment.

[6] Recorded in the Court orders as Summary charge 21.

66I direct that 12 months of the sentence imposed on Charge 3 (Reckless Endangerment) be served cumulatively upon Charge 2 and all other sentences imposed this day.  I direct that 10 months of the two years and four-month sentence imposed upon Charge 4 be served cumulatively upon Charge 2 and all other sentences imposed this day.  I direct that one month of the four-month sentence imposed on Charge 5 be served cumulatively upon Charge 2 and all other sentences imposed this day.  All other sentences are to be served concurrently with the sentence imposed this day.

67That makes a total effective sentence of seven years and one month's imprisonment.  I direct that you serve a minimum of five years before becoming eligible for release on parole.

68Pursuant to s 18(4) of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) I declare that the period of 254 days that you have been in custody be reckoned as time already served under the sentence passed today and I direct that this be entered into the records of the court.

69Pursuant to s 6AAA of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) I declare that had you not pleaded guilty I would have sentenced you to a total effective sentence of nine years' imprisonment with seven years to serve before being eligible for parole.

70I further order pursuant to s 78(1) of the Confiscation Act 1997 (Vic), in accordance with the disposal order dated 16 December 2021, the disposal of:

(a)   Clear plastic container with green vegetable matter;

(b)   Black-coloured imitation firearm; and

(c)   Brass knuckledusters.

71You have also been found guilty of indictable offences that have the effect that you become a prohibited person under the Firearms Act1996 (Vic) and there is consent to the following order. Pursuant to s 151 of the Firearms Act 1996, I order the forfeiture of spent ammunition casing ( 1. XCRECH EX 15 ) in accordance with the forfeiture order dated 16 December 2021.

72His Honour: Thank you. I’ll adjourn the court.