Director of Public Prosecutions v Pham

[2016] VCC 651

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

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR -16-00398

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

VIET PHAM

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE STUART
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	18 May 2016
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Pham
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2016] VCC 651

EX TEMPORE REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:
Catchwords:
Legislation Cited:
Cases Cited:
Sentence:

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr M. Roper	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Offender	Ms M. Casey

HIS HONOUR:

1Viet Ngoc Pham you have pleaded guilty to one charge of cultivating a narcotic plant in a commercial quantity.  The maximum penalty for this offence is imprisonment for a period of 25 years.  A commercial quantity is either 25 kilograms or 100 plants.  The quantity of cannabis plants that you were cultivating was slightly in excess of six times the 25 kilograms of a commercial quantity namely 164.73 kilograms and a little under twice the commercial quantity in terms of number of plants being 184 plants.

2The prosecution opening describes the hydroponic cultivation as elaborate and having viewed the set of photographs in Book A, that is a warranted description. Photograph 12 from Book A shows the electrical bypass.  Photograph 16 shows the insulation and the heating arrangements for the cultivation process.  Photograph 52 shows the electrical arrangements for the powering of the various devices.  Photograph 67 shows the varying stages of the plant growing process.  Photographs 79 and 82, among others, demonstrate the paraphernalia that you had access to for the purpose of the cultivation that you admitted to over a period of two months at this home.

3You stated in your interview that you had been at the address for some two months and had been instructed by a male as to how to care for the plants.  You engaged in this offending for reward but in fact received no reward. You expected to be paid $5000 at the end of the week that you were arrested following the harvest of two of the rooms. The Crown accepts that your role was that of crop sitter.

4This is serious offending at a commercial level.  This is not a disorganised, perfunctory exercise that you engaged in.  In the process of cultivating this narcotic plant your role was an essential one.  Parliament has provided a maximum penalty of 25 years' imprisonment. 

5You have pleaded guilty at the earliest possible opportunity, namely the committal mention and you expressed remorse during your interview with the police officer.  I accept that you are genuinely remorseful for what you did.  Your mother's letter evidences your motive for deserting the ship that you came on and remaining in Australia.  Namely to remit money back to her so that her treatment for breast cancer could continue.

6I am satisfied that assisting your mother was your sole motivation for this offending and for your unlawful stay.  You demonstrated genuine remorse in your police interview by saying "Sorry Australia".  This is a poignant statement and one genuinely made.  It is accepted that you must be imprisoned for a period of time and correctly so.

7General deterrence must be the principal sentencing factor in this matter.  Deterring you is of little moment in this case. There is also a need for there to be just punishment and denunciation of your conduct.  Taking into account all the relevant circumstances, I am satisfied that the period of imprisonment that I would have otherwise imposed is greatly reduced.

8I sentence you to a period of nine months' imprisonment.  I declare that your pre-sentence detention is 154 days.  That but for your plea of guilty I would have imposed a period of 18 months' imprisonment with a non-parole period of 12 months.

9MS CASEY:  As Your Honour pleases.

10MR ROPER:  As Your Honour pleases.

11HIS HONOUR:  Necessarily because of the brevity of those reasons are there any matters that I ought have attended to but I have not?

12MS CASEY:  No, Your Honour, I think taking into account all the matters that are raised in the written submissions ‑ ‑ ‑ 

13MR ROPER:  Yes.

14HIS HONOUR:  Yes.

15MR ROPER:  They're quite comprehensively set out, as I understand it, so I wouldn't need ‑ ‑ ‑ 

16HIS HONOUR:  I'm thankful to both of you for your assistance and you may remove Mr Pham please.  I return the photo books.  Anything else?

17MS CASEY:  No, Your Honour.

18MR ROPER:  No, Your Honour.

19HIS HONOUR:  10.30 tomorrow morning please.

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