Director of Public Prosecutions v Pennoh
[2025] VCC 593
•14 May 2025
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
CR-24-01829
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| V |
| AMAKA PENNOH |
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| JUDGE: | HIS HONOUR JUDGE CAHILL |
| WHERE HELD: | MELBOURNE |
| DATE OF HEARING: | 5 May 2025 |
| DATE OF SENTENCE: | 14 May 2025 |
| CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Pennoh |
| MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2025] VCC 593 |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject: Intentionally cause serious injury
Catchwords: Guilty plea – premeditated and random attack – innocent stranger - use of large knife – limited criminal record – traumatic childhood and consequent PTSD – good rehabilitation prospects
Legislation Cited: Sentencing Act 1991
Cases Cited:Nash v The Queen (2013) 40 VR 140; O'Toole v the Queen [2019] VSCA 185; Lukudu v the Queen [2019] VSCA 428; Dhal v the King [2023] VSCA 289; O’Toole [2019] VSCA 185
Sentence:five years imprisonment; minimum non-parole period of three years
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Director of Public Prosecutions | Ms J Malobabic | Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Ms N Freijah | Giorgianni & Liang Lawyers |
HIS HONOUR:
1Amaka Pennoh, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of intentionally causing serious injury.
Circumstances of your offending[1]
[1] The circumstances of your offending set out in the summary of prosecution opening [exhibit A]. They are agreed facts.
2On 21 May 2024, in a false name, using your girlfriend’s phone, you booked a premium Uber service to your home at Clyde.
3You messaged the driver a request for assistance with your luggage. You said you could not bend or lift due to recent surgery.
4When the driver, Lovepreet Singh, arrived you told him your bags were upstairs. He followed you upstairs where he picked up two large suitcases and carried them downstairs.[2] While he was putting them in the Uber car, you went into the downstairs garage where you picked up a large knife from beneath a blanket. You hid it in the right pocket of your jacket and walked out the garage.
[2] Mr Singh noted the suitcases were light weight.
5You asked Mr Singh to collect another bag from a car parked inside your garage. When he asked you to open the garage roller door, you said you couldn’t, because your wife had the remote, and, when he asked you to open the door from the inside, you said it was not working.
6Mr Singh entered the garage through the side door. You followed him.
7There were two cars in the garage; both were facing the street.
8You remotely raised the boot lid of the car nearest you and directed Mr Singh to walk between the two cars to get the bag out of the boot.
9Mr Singh’s view of the boot was obscured. Not known to him, it was empty.
10As he walked towards the rear of the car, you followed him and removed the knife from your right pocket. You thrust the knife towards him. As he turned back towards you, you cut his neck. As he backed away from you, you lunged towards him and stabbed him in the abdomen.
11You pinned him against the rear wall and repeatedly lunged at him with the knife. You cut his left thumb as he tried to grab your right arm to stop you from stabbing him. You stopped momentarily when you exchanged words with him.
12You told him, if he let go of your hand, you would let him leave. He did not believe you. He was able to get to his feet and dragged you by your right arm, which was holding the large knife, with both his hands towards the front of the garage. As he did, you pulled a smaller knife from your left pocket and attempted to cut him with it. While still holding your right arm, he backed away towards the exit door. When he got near the door he pushed you backwards and, as you fell over, he ran from the garage. You ran after him with a large knife in your right hand and the small knife in your left.
13Your attack on him was captured on CCTV footage. [3] It is frighteningly graphic viewing.
[3] CCTV footage of the camera inside Mr Pennoh’s home (Exhibit B).
14Mr Singh ran away leaving the Uber car behind.
15He went to nearby houses looking for help. He called emergency services. He was bleeding heavily and felt faint. He lay on the ground about 50 m from your house. A passerby helped him with first aid.
16You removed the suitcases from the Uber car and drove off in one of the cars which was parked in the garage.
17Shortly after, police and an ambulance arrived. Mr Singh was taken to the Alfred Hospital where he underwent surgery to repair:
(a) a 2.5 cm wide and 3 cm deep stab wound to the left side of his abdomen, below the ribs;
(b) a laceration to his left thumb, which severed the digital nerve and digital artery; and
(c) a laceration to his left hand which severed a tendon to his little finger. Mr Singh also had two superficial lacerations on his left arm.
18Mr Singh also had a 2.5 cm wide stab wound to the back of his neck and lacerations on his left arm and right hand.
19He spent four days in hospital.
20The severed artery, nerve and tendon are significant injuries. The healing process is uncertain. He requires hand therapy. There are likely to be protracted physical effects.
21In addition, as Mr Singh outlined in his victim impact statement,[4] he has suffered anxiety, nightmares and social withdrawal. He has been diagnosed with an acute stress disorder, which could lead to PTSD, and a major depressive disorder. He is attending a psychologist for trauma counselling.
[4] Victim Impact Statement of Lovepreet SINGH dated 29 July 2024 (Exhibit C).
22The physical and psychological injuries you caused him are substantial and protracted.
Post offence conduct
23After you attacked Mr Singh, you tried to conceal your crime.
24Before you left your home, you called your girlfriend and told her you were the victim of a home invasion.
25Five minutes later, you called your former partner and went to her home with childcare money. Your right hand was cut when Mr Singh struggled to get away from you. You told your former partner someone tried to stab you.
26You also phoned Maxol home security, three times, to try to get the login details for the CCTV camera mounted in your garage. They would not give you the information.
27Your partner picked you up about an hour later and, half an hour after that, she called 000 and reported an Uber driver had attacked you in your house with a knife.
28Shortly after, police arrested you.
29When they questioned you, you falsely claimed Mr Singh had attacked you with knives. You said you grabbed a knife and struck back in self-defence and, when you screamed for help, he ran off.
30You were charged with intentionally cause serious injury and remanded in custody.
31You entered your guilty plea at an early stage. Accordingly, Mr Singh was spared the ordeal of giving evidence.
32By your guilty plea you admit you intended to cause Mr Singh serious injury.
Objective gravity33You planned your attack.
34You ordered the Uber vehicle in a false name. And used the ruse of recent surgery to trick your victim.
35You lured him inside the garage on the pretext of assisting a supposedly incapacitated person to collect a non-existent bag from the car boot.
36You made excuses not to open the roller door and directed him to walk between two parked cars to trap him at the back of the garage.
37Mr Singh was vulnerable. He did not know you. He was unarmed and you took him by surprise.
38You attacked him, callously, with a number of blows and attempted blows, with a large knife.
39Your attack lasted two minutes. It ended only when he was able to escape from you.
40Fortunately, Mr Singh’s injuries, while serious, were not life-threatening nor catastrophic.
41You have not given any explanation for your offending.
42You told a psychologist,[5] two days beforehand you learned your father had died and, in response, you consumed 2 – 3 g of ice. You said, in respect of your offending, you woke up that morning and your girlfriend went to work. You said you had no reason to call an Uber. You described your attack upon Mr Singh as a “dishonourable act”. You said you were “just grieving and angry”. [6]
[5] Psychological report of Carla Lechner dated 12 March 2025 (Exhibit 3).
[6] You wrote a letter of apology (Exhibit 2).
43It is no excuse.
44Your unexplained and cold blooded attack on an innocent stranger is a serious example of the serious offence of intentionally cause serious injury.
45Your moral culpability is high.
Criminal record
46You have admitted a limited criminal record, in summary courts, of largely driving and dishonesty offences.
47Relevantly, you have two convictions for unlawful assault, in 2021[7] and 2022. Each time, in combination with other offences, you were placed on a community corrections order.
[7] As a result of an episode when you pushed and slapped your then girlfriend (the circumstances are summarised in a preliminary brief – exhibit E). She suffered scratches to her arms and hand.
48You were subject to the second community corrections order when you committed this crime. [8]
[8] which expired on 29 May 2024.
49You were also on bail for other offending.
50Allegedly, on 6 November 2023, you brandished a large kitchen knife while arguing with someone about a motor vehicle. [9]
[9] The circumstances are summarised in a preliminary brief (exhibit F). The other person was not injured.
Personal circumstances[10]
[10] Your personal circumstances are summarised in Carla Lechner’s psychological report dated 12 March 2025 (Exhibit 3).
51You were born in January 1995 in Liberia. You were 29 years old when you offended. You are now 30.
52When you were three years old Charles Taylor’s rebels broke into your home where, in front of you, they killed your mother.
53Your father escaped with you, and your older sister, to Sierra Leone. When you were nine years old he brought you to Australia. You lived at Springvale, then at Perth for two years, before returning to Victoria.
54You report you were bullied at school because you were “the only black kid” and “had poor English”.
55You were a talented junior soccer player.
56At the end of year nine, you took up a Sport Education Development Academy (SEDA) scholarship for two years. At 16, your father, who had been violent towards you, kicked you out of home because of tensions with your stepmother. [11] You met an older man, whom you liked, but he got you into fights and petty crime.
[11] You report your stepmother molested you and when you told your father he didn't believe you.
57You started using “ice”, methyl amphetamine.
58You have had limited employment; in mostly casual sales and factory jobs.
59You have five children from three relationships. You report your “ice” use escalated when you could not see your children.
60You last saw your father at the end of 2023. You believe he subsequently died on a visit to Africa.
61The psychologist believes you are of “average/low average” intelligence.
62In her opinion, in the context of your exposure to violence when you were very young, your father’s, and your stepmother’s, abuse and bullying at school, you exhibit symptoms which indicate long-term complex PTSD.
63In her opinion, because of your complex PTSD, prison is harder for you and your mental health is likely to further deteriorate in the harsh prison environment.
64You enjoy the support of the sister and a friend.
65Your sister knows you as a friendly and outgoing person who loves his family. You have coached young soccer players and participated in community soccer events. She believes you are remorseful for your actions and want to reform.[12]
[12] Letter of Elizabeth Pennoh dated 20 January 2025 (Exhibit 6).
66Your longtime friend, who met you through your community, wrote you have a good heart. According to him, you are a good father and contribute positively to your community. And, in prison, you have had the chance to reflect on your actions and the impact they have had on your victim. You have expressed your remorse and desire to make amends to him.[13]
[13] Letter of Ibrahim Kamara dated 20 January 2025 (Exhibit 5).
67You wrote a letter of apology to the court.
68You describe your imprisonment as “a blessing” because it has taught you to think less about the bad things that have happened to you and more about the positives, including your children and partner. You miss them and want to make amends when you are released.
69In prison, you have completed the behavioural, educational and vocational courses made available to you.[14]
[14] See prisoner education summary report (Exhibit 4) and certificates of completion (Exhibit 8).
70You enjoy the trusted position as a peer representative who assists other prisons with daily tasks and enquiries.
Defence submissions
71Your counsel, Ms Freijah, in comprehensive written[15] and oral submissions, acknowledged your random and violent attack on an innocent victim, planned and with the use of a weapon, is serious offending.
[15] Sentencing submissions (Exhibit 1).
72She submitted, considering your victim’s injuries were not life-threatening nor catastrophic, that you acted alone and your attack was relatively short, your crime sits not at the higher end of the scale. [16]
[16] Sentencing submissions (Exhibit 1).
73In mitigation of penalty, which she acknowledged must be a term of imprisonment, she relied on:
(a) your childhood exposure to the trauma of war and physical and sexual abuse;
(b) you complex PTSD; and
(c) your early guilty plea.
74She submitted your limited criminal history, your remorse, your positive response to your incarceration and your family support are protective factors for your rehabilitation.
Prosecution Submissions
75Ms Malobabic, who appeared for the prosecution, in helpful written[17] and oral submissions, submitted, considering the violence of your offending, the planning which preceded it, and your use of a weapon, to attack a vulnerable stranger, the imposition of a prison term with a non-parole period is required to meet sentencing objectives.
[17] Two photographs contained at pages 612 and 613 of the depositions (Exhibit G).
76She acknowledged the injuries, which you caused, do not fall into the more serious category identified in O’Toole. [18]
[18] [2019] VSCA 185.
77She acknowledged your guilty plea has utilitarian value.
78She also acknowledged Bugmy considerations, while not reducing your moral culpability, are relevant in the general sense.
79She also accepted the psychologist’s opinions your psychological condition will make prison harder for you and your mental health will likely deteriorate in prison.
Consideration
80The maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment demonstrates the seriousness of your crime.
81Imprisonment, without a community corrections order, is mandated in the absence of limited statutory exceptions.
82Yours was a planned, random and unexplained attack on a guiltless and vulnerable stranger. You caused him serious harm.
83General and specific deterrence and just punishment are important sentencing objectives. A term of imprisonment is the only appropriate sentence in your case.[19]
[19] See Nash v The Queen (2013) 40 VR 140; O'Toole v the Queen [2019] VSCA 185; Lukudu v the Queen [2019] VSCA 428; Dhal v the King [2023] VSCA 289.
84I will moderate the prison term, and non-parole period, which I will impose, to take into account:
(a) your guilty plea, for its high utilitarian value and your acceptance of responsibility for your actions;
(b) your remorse;
(c) your disrupted and traumatic childhood, because you lost the chance of normal social, emotional and vocational development;
(d) your consequent complex PTSD, because it makes prison harder for you and it will likely deteriorate in the prison environment; and
(e) the anxiety of your enforced separation from your partner and children.
85Your rehabilitation is also an important sentencing factor.
86Provided you continue to use your time in prison productively, I consider, for the reasons your Counsel identified, your prospects of rehabilitation to be good. However, Mr Pennoh, the change must come from within you.
87By the sentence I impose I must denounce your conduct, punish you, and deter you and others, from committing crimes of the same or similar kind. I must also look to your rehabilitation.
88Considering the circumstances of your offending, your personal circumstances and antecedents, and endeavouring to produce a sentence which reflects and promotes the purposes of sentencing in a manner appropriate to you, on the charge of intentionally cause serious injury you are sentenced to 5 years imprisonment.
89To mitigate punishment and promote this your rehabilitation, I fix a minimum non-parole period of three years.
90I declare you have already served 358 days of your sentence by way of presentence detention.
91While there is some artificiality in the process, doing the best I can, I declare, but for your plea of guilty, I would have sentenced you to seven years imprisonment and fixed a minimum non-parole period of four years and nine months.
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