Director of Public Prosecutions v Sekulovska

[2017] VCC 517

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

AT LATROBE VALLEY
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 15-01815
CR-15-01816
CR-16-01647

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

SUZANNE SEKULOVSKA
IBRAHIM MOUSSA

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE SMALLWOOD
WHERE HELD:	Latrobe Valley
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	4 May 2017
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Sekulovska & Anor
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2017] VCC 517

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 P. Bourke
For Accused Sekulovska	Ms J. Warren
Accused Moussa was not represented

HIS HONOUR:

1Ibrahim Moussa and Suzanne Sekulovska, on 4 October 2016, you were each convicted by a jury of 12 of various crimes.

2You, Mr Moussa, were convicted of four charges of intentionally causing injury, one charge of armed robbery, two charges of threat to kill, one charge of threat to inflict serious injury, one charge of false imprisonment, one charge of negligently cause serious injury, three charges of attempting to obtain property by deception and one charge of obtaining property by deception.  Those crimes carry maximum penalties of ten years, 25 years, ten years, five years, ten years, ten years, five years and ten years respectively.

3You, Ms Sekulovska, were convicted of one charge of intentionally causing injury, one charge of false imprisonment, one charge of negligently causing serious injury and one charge of attempting to obtain property by deception.  You also pleaded guilty on another indictment to one charge of perjury.  The crime of perjury carries a maximum penalty of 15 years.

4You are 36 years of age and 42 years of age respectively.  Each of you ran a trial, and accordingly, do not get the benefit of a plea of guilty, except for you, Ms Sekulovska, in regard to the perjury.  That does not aggravate the situation.  It simply means that what is usually the main mitigating factor in the criminal sentencing process is not available to either of you.  In your case,
Ms Sekulovska, I am well aware that you were acquitted of various charges and therefore are not to be condemned in any way for running a trial.

5Each of you have very significant prior convictions over an extended period of time and each of you has been incarcerated before.  You, Mr Moussa, have prior convictions for aggravated burglary, dishonesty, armed robbery and violence including cruelty to an animal.  You, Ms Sekulovska, have mainly dishonesty prior convictions involving burglary, theft and the like.  Each of you has been in the system now for a long time and each of you has had a
long-standing difficulty with drugs and obviously, mental health issues.

6A trial was conducted obviously and there is a significant amount of evidence in relation to what actually occurred.  What I am going to do is give a, as brief as I can, summary of the evidence that was given by Mr Babich, the victim in this matter.  I am well aware that this is not purporting to be a total summary of it and I am well aware that in the course of cross-examination, particularly by your counsel, Ms Sekulovska, that certain concessions were made which may well have resulted in you being acquitted of a number of the charges.

7But in any event, this is more to give the gist of it.  I can say from the outset that I do not propose to enter into some sort of intellectual dissertation on all the ins and outs of the evidence that was given in this trial.  It is a, in effect, sentence for a course of events, rather than trying to ascertain precise sentences for each crime.  In terms of how I have done that, some may think that I have given greater weight to certain crimes than others and they would not have.  But the end result is a question of totality and a just punishment, taking into account any other matters for the crimes that you committed.

8On 2 March 2015, Mr Babich was in touch with you, Ms Sekulovska.  He had known you for approximately ten to 15 years and had been a person who had supported you, assisted you financially and emotionally over a long period of time.  He would take you to appointments and generally give you a hand.  On that day, he received a phone call from you and you went together to various places, which does not really matter; for these purposes, and in any event, he was returning to your premises to pick you up.  I accept that you could not have been aware that he was actually at the premises at that time, as your counsel has pointed out to me.

9However, as he was coming to the premises, walking up the driveway, he saw you, Ms Sekulovska and you, Mr Moussa, walking down the stairs.  He knows you, Mr Moussa, as Abs.  He had met you previously and there was a relatively, mind you half-baked, attempt to run an identification issue in this trial.  In any event, he knew you and I have got no doubt it was you.

10Mr Babich did not want to see you, Mr Moussa, and immediately turned around and began walking back to his car.  You ran from behind him and blocked his path and stood there physically right in front of him, you started shouting at him that he disrespected you.  You shouted out, "How dare he walk away from you.  Why was he disrespecting you."  You were directly in front of him.

11Ms Sekulovska, you were, on his evidence, probably three to four metres away and I’m also conscious that during the course of the evidence, there was certain matters that were contained in the statement that were not sworn up that I am just simply operating off the transcript of what was actually said at the trial.

12You, Mr Moussa, told Mr Babich that you were going to smack his face in, that you were going to fight him.  You questioned why he was disrespecting you.  Just kept going on and on.  Eventually, went upstairs to the unit.  Mr Babich said he couldn't remember whose idea it was that you go up to the unit.  He said you, Mr Moussa, were chesting him going up the stairs, chesting him to go in.  He kept apologising that he disrespected you and just wanted to go home.

13You, Ms Sekulovska, were watching all this.  You were, on the evidence, saying to him, "No, Abs.  No" but as the same, aware that there were other matters that were not actually sworn up.  In any event, Mr Babich's evidence was that you, Mr Moussa said to Ms Sekulovska, "Shut the fuck up or I'll smash you too."  You, Ms Sekulovska, walked up first and let them into the unit.  You, Mr Moussa, were chesting him from behind.

14He could not recall whether you said anything at that point in time or during the course of that.  He went into the lounge room of your premises, Ms Sekulovska, and moved over to the lounge.  He kept apologising to you, Mr Moussa.  You went into the kitchen and came back in with a knife.  Ms Sekulovska, you were present in the same room, though I am aware you have been acquitted of this particular crime.

15You, Mr Moussa, demand money from him.  You asked him to empty his pockets.  "Give me your wallet and empty your pocket."  You said to him, "You're going to pay".  You totally gratuitously stabbed him while he was endeavouring to get the wallet out.  Then that wallet was taken.  Various credit cards were seized by you and the two of you subsequently left with those credit cards and I am aware, Ms Sekulovska, that you were acquitted of a number of the attempted thefts by deception, and you, Mr Moussa, were convicted.  The fact of the matter is, in that so far as all that is concerned, that you, Ms Sekulovska, left with Mr Moussa, came back with the money, and I find that, as it was put to Mr Babich that you had found one of the credit cards on the stairs is quite preposterous.

16In any event, Mr Moussa, you went through his wallet.  You were flicking the knife out and you pulled all the cards out.  You wanted to know the pin numbers to the cards and he gave you incorrect pin numbers.  You, Ms Sekulovska, then queried as to whether the pin numbers were correct and said, "Well, you better give him the right numbers otherwise he'll kill you both."  You have known, as I understand it, Mr Moussa for about four years.  That was your impression of what was taking place.  In any event, the pin numbers were handed over and you, Ms Sekulovska, had told you, Mr Moussa, that he had given the incorrect numbers.

17You became very agitated.  Mr Babich kept apologising.  "I'm sorry if I disrespected you.  Here are the pin numbers."  After he had written down the pin numbers, you, Mr Moussa, said you were going to force him to go to the bank with you in the boot of the car.  He had hoped that once you had left with the incorrect pin numbers that he would be able to escape.  He was not.

18He was bleeding significantly from the stab wound.  He was forced to have a shower with all the blood on his leg and you, Ms Sekulovska, wrapped a towel around his leg in the bedroom and were sitting on the bed opposite him.  You were saying things like, "How's your leg.  Are you okay."  Mr Babich at that stage did not know where Mr Moussa was.  That was the point he was told he was going to be put in the boot of the car, so he pretended to faint.

19You, Mr Moussa, just after that, grabbed him by the arm.  He was on the floor, and dragged him into the living room.  You put a knife in front of his face and threatened to cut his eye out if he did not get up on his chest.  The knife was positioned directly in front of his eyes and in my view, that is a very seriously example of threat to cause serious injury.  You also said, "I'll fucking kill you."

20In any event, he was then held.  His arms were taped behind with duct tape behind his back in a hogtie position.  He did not know where the tape came from.  It would only be guessing if I endeavoured to work that out.  He was dragged by you, Mr Moussa, up onto the couch by his hair wrapped around his legs and has then got the duct tape and an electrical cord was then used to effectively hogtie.  You were continually threatening him, asking him what God he prayed to.  You said, "How dare you."  He disrespects you.  You said, "I'm a good guy.  I'm going to kill you.  I can't let you go."  You put a knife to his throat and you cut it.

21The evidence is that you, Ms Sekulovska, were telling him not to use the knife.  In any event, on his evidence, you were yelling at each other.  Various other incidents took place.  I have taken into account an overall sense and the pair of you, at that point, went and came back with some money.  You waved the money in his face, Mr Moussa.  He was not sure as to how long you were gone for and there were various periods of time from then on in when he was lapsing in and out of consciousness.  This whole process went on for something in the order of a day, 24, 25 hours all up as I calculated.  It is hard to ascertain how long the actual bondage was there for, but it must have been a very significant time to inflict the injuries that in fact, it did.

22At one stage, you, Mr Moussa, told him to come up with some story about black guys having done it in the Broadmeadows Shopping Centre or something along those lines, and when he was ultimately rescued by ambulance officers effectively, that is the story Mr Babich tried to give.  He was asked directly whether you, Mr Moussa, were threatening Ms Sekulovska and he said not that he could remember.  He said, you, Ms Sekulovska, were not doing much at all.

23I do not think I need to go into the other detail, other than the knife was again held to his throat, that attempts were made and I accept not by you in this situation, Ms Sekulovska, to get money from his credit cards.  One was successful and somewhere around $500 as I recall.  In terms of the false imprisonment, you instigated that, Mr Moussa, and you joined in at some indeterminate time, Ms Sekulovska.  But in my view, early on.

24Throughout this ordeal, you were watching him.  You saw him and you could see the condition he was in.  He was lapsing in and out of consciousness.  He was basically begging to be let go.  He was in a lot of pain and he was saying so.  He was trying to get relief.  You were there, Ms Sekulovska.  He tried to roll over on his back to try and relieve himself from the pain.  You said, "You better move back in case Ab sees you."  He said that he could not see,
Mr Moussa, you at that stage.

25You had ample opportunity after Mr Moussa apparently left, Ms Sekulovska, to release this man who had been so good to you over such a long period of time.  You declined to do so.  It must have been obvious to anybody watching him in that situation going in and out of consciousness for something like 24 hours, that he was in very serious trouble.

26In the end, after a series of text messages between you, about, "This is out of control" and things like that in the early hours of the morning.  In the end, having left him in that condition to go and try and buy some smokes with one of his credit cards, you rang an ambulance.  It was a bit hard to work out on the evidence when he was actually set free.  I am not even going to try to.  The fact of the matter is that he was kept tied up for such a long period of time and that very, very serious injuries indeed were caused.

27The false imprisonment is the keeping him there.  The negligently caused serious injury, in my view, for such a prolonged period of time is a very serious example of it.  It could be said Mr Moussa, that you left the scene at some point in time when that injury may not have already occurred.  You, Ms Sekulovska, remained with him.  The false imprisonment is more your responsibility, Mr Moussa, but the not untying him and letting him suffer for that period of time is more your responsibility, Ms Sekulovska.  There are two bases on which the jury could have convicted you of that.  I do not think it matters which.  They are both equally serious.

28He suffered Compartment Syndrome in both arms.  I will be going through his victim impact statement in a certain amount of detail in a moment.  Before I even do that, it is clear that both of you are used to the milieu in which you conducted yourself on this occasion on a totally innocent, decent man.  The offending has to be regarded in my view as extremely serious. It calls for the application of general and specific deterrence, denunciation, appropriate punishment and certainly in your situation, Mr Moussa, some form of community protection.

29Just so there is no misunderstanding as to what was done to this man, I am going to read from his victim impact statement.  When the victim impact statement was first tendered, the concluding paragraph was,

"I do not wish for this statement to be read out in court.  I do not want the accused to know what pain they've caused me.  They would not care.  I imagine they would get some satisfaction knowing the hurt caused to me and my family.  I will not give them that satisfaction."

30I understand that there is no objection to me quoting from parts of it. Just to simply indicates the dreadful, dreadful consequences that this had on
Mr Babich.  He says, and this will take me a couple of minutes.

"I used to lead an idyllic life, living in a beautiful 15th floor South Bank apartment with a stunning, uninterrupted view of the city.  I enjoyed everything the city had to offer, from the numerous sporting events and concerts that I attended, to the simplicity of a coffee at my local café.  I had no health issues and walked just about anywhere I went within the city.  I was single with no ties and free to do what I wanted and when I wanted.  I'd travel to Perth several times a year to catch up with family and friends, do some contract work or just to watch a Fremantle Dockers game at the Subiaco Oval.

I simply loved the winter months because I loved the AFL footy.  I think nothing of going to see four games live every weekend, and over the course of the season, I'd see approximately 80 games of footy a year.  I've been to every grand final in the last 25 years.  I lived a simple life and life was better than ever.

That all changed on 2 March 2015.  My life changed drastically forever that day, physically, mentally and emotionally.  I'll never be the same person that I was before the attack.  It's very difficult to try and describe the horror and terror of being stabbed, robbed, tied up and brutalised for 23 hours.  The physical pain endured throughout the attack is only exceeded by the sheer terror of being at the mercy of a man with a knife across your throat, as you plead for your life, as he yells at you that he's about to kill you.

At that time, I fully expected to die a long and painful death, and I was completely incapacitated.  It's extremely difficult to put into words the emotional toll of such a horrific situation.  Unless someone has been in that situation, it's impossible to comprehend the horror of it all and the overwhelming rush of thoughts and emotions.  It's impossible to come out the other end of such an ordeal the same person as before."

31It then goes on to describe other matters.  It says,

"Also, for the first two weeks in hospital, I was confined to bed, unable to get out of bed or stand or walk.  At the commencement, I was also unable to go to the toilet by myself.  The helplessness and indignity that I felt that being unable to control my bodily function was again, very depressing and stressful.  The sense of shame of being unable to control my bowel movements and the indignity of lying in bed after having soiled myself and the pain and utter despair that you feel as the nurses struggle to roll you to one side whilst they remove the soiled sheets and try and clean you up and replace the bed with clean sheets, only to have them soiled again shortly afterwards, and to have to suffer the indignity of it all over again.

I would sob uncontrollably each time I soiled myself.  It all just added to the stress of it all, as you ponder when it will all end, as you sink deeper into depression."

32Later on, he says,

"I was exhausted, totally miserable and depressed.  I just could not sleep.  All I could do was lay there going over and over in my head the horror of the attack and becoming more and more miserable.  I was in a very, very bad headspace at that time.  The hopelessness of it all was relentless.

After about two weeks in hospital and a couple of surgeries" ‑ ‑ ‑

33He has had many, I might interpolate there.

"- - - the doctors removed the heavy bandaging and tubing from my arms and unpacked them, which allowed me to see the damage that had been caused"

34And the photos have been tendered.

"On top of everything else, that was a particularly distressing time.  For the first time, I was able to see the physical damage that had been inflicted upon me by the attack.  When I first saw my own bandaged arms and hands, I was in shock.  The sight of seeing my arms for the first time will haunt me forever. 

My hands were badly swollen and covered with blisters and sores and grafted skin.  My forearms both had been cut wide open and it looked like half of the meat or flesh of my arms was gone.  I could see six or eight inches of what I thought was my bare bones.  I later found out that what I thought were my bones was actually the exposed tendon muscles of my arms.

I could not move my hands or my fingers at all.  It was such a shocking site.  I could only bare to look at them for a few seconds before my stomach would churn and I'd have to look away or close my eyes.  I physically couldn't look at it without it making me sick.  Nurses need to change the dressing on my arms each day after that, and each day my arms were exposed, and each day I couldn't look at them for more than a few seconds before turning away in horror.

Again, all this was adding to my depression deteriorating state of mind.  Even to this day, which is 18 months since the attack, I can barely look at my arms for any length of time.  I find myself wearing long sleeves or windcheaters, even when it's warm which was something that I would never do prior to this.

Even after 18 months on, I can't stand touching my own forearms.  It sends a shiver down my spine each time I do when I have to wash it, which has meant that I have avoided showering.  18 months on and I'm still only showering once a week.

When I was finally released from hospital and allowed to go home, that in itself created more difficulties and I'm still almost totally dependent on my sister, who had to take unpaid leave from her job in Perth to care for me.  I couldn't do much for myself, couldn't wash myself.  I could barely feed myself or dress myself, and literally, my sister had to wipe my bum for me whenever I went to the toilet.

The psychological distress that caused me was severe.  I felt severely degraded.  That was yet another low point.  It is now 18 months since the incident and I've been back in Melbourne for seven months, and I've been able to cope physically by adapting the way things are done.  I'm right handed, as my right hand is far worse than the other.

I have to accept that I can no longer do the things I used to enjoy.  I can no longer play my guitars.  I can no longer play golf, tennis or squash.  I've only just begun to be able to write again.  I still struggle putting on shoes or doing up buttons.  Every day things that are taken for granted that I can no longer do like getting money and cards out of my wallet, picking up coins, starting the car, holding a bar of soap, opening bottles amongst other things.

The thumb on my right hand is still pretty much useless and I find it very difficult to grasp things or pick up things.  I tend to drop things a lot.  I don't have a lot of strength in my right arm and hand and I have to live with the scars on my arms for the rest of my life.  I am self-conscious of them.  I feel like I am deformed.  They are going to be a constant reminder of the trauma I endured for the rest of my life.

I used to love spending days at the beach, which now I will not do.  I still have trouble sleeping.  I have nightmares and dreams, something that I never used to have prior to this.  I've become something of a recluse.  Apart from the football and hospital and doctor's appointments, I don't go anywhere.  I get nervous when I pass people on the streets or when someone I don't know speaks to me.

My hearing has deteriorated since the incident.  I find it difficult to concentrate on things.  I'm still having to take a substantial amount of pain killing medication each day to control the pain.  I think about what happened every day.  Financially, I've been unable to work up until now and have endured loss of earnings and self-esteem because of that.  Nothing will ever be the same.  My former idyllic life is gone forever."

35That is what you two achieved with your conduct on that night.  The injury charge in so far as your concerned, Ms Sekulovska, involves the jury having found you guilty in concert at least or complicit at least of some sort of chemical being poured onto Mr Babich and burning him.  The evidence seemed to be he remembers it being on his head, but he had burns around the groin area.

36I think, it is my considered view, that you having been acquitted of the charges relating to the knife was indeed merciful.

37I suspect Mr Babich has given evidence which is because of his long association with you, he tried to exonerate you to the best of his ability.  That victim impact statement brings it clearly home what you did.

38I then look to matters personal to you.  Obviously, a very significant custodial sentence is the only option in this particular situation.  So far as you are concerned, Mr Moussa, after references from the family and I understand from that that you have basically spent since you were a teenager, your time in and out of custody between your mother's and prisons.  I take those references into account.

39I also have the report from Dr Cunningham and I have a letter from you expressing how you consider all this now.  You also, being unrepresented on the last occasion, made a speech to me, which I have taken into account and also presented some material on drugs.

40It is clear from Dr Cunningham's report that you have a post-traumatic stress disorder.  That might cause great difficulty.  I do not know whether it causes difficulty in gaol.  Half the gaol population seems to have one.  But I take that into account.

41You have a low IQ and I take that disability into account as well in terms of understanding consequence.  Were this a situation of a momentary attack, then those matters would be of real importance.  This was a considered, drawn out torturing of a man.  I also take into account that a large part of your time on remand has been in lock down.  Some order of 23 hours I understand, from the report of Mr Cunningham.  I am not going to be going through all these things in detail.  That you have been hearing voices and that you clearly have difficulties in that lock down scenario.  That is inevitable and I take that into account.

42He is also very concerned that you are in the process of becoming institutionalised.  For somebody with your difficulties in life, Mr Moussa, and with your history, that is a very real chance I would have thought.  In sentencing you, I have to take into account principles of totality.  I have to take into account that it is best I avoid it, not to impose a crushing sentence.

43The prospects of you rehabilitating, have got to be problematic.  The risk of you reoffending, I think, would have to be regarded as high.  If you are released and then start using drugs again, has been your want for something in the order of 20 years then I have no doubt that you will continue to offend.

44You do not have a very long history of violence but it is an unsettling one.  You have spent years in gaol and I suspect it is going to be a lot more years as well.  You are facing charges involving the riots.  That has got nothing to do with me.  To your credit, you tried to resolve that, but were unable to.  I also take into account the evidence that your brother gave on oath on your behalf and that the evidence of a Ms Alphonso gave, saying that she knew you and that you were not violent within a family situation.  That may well be the case, and I have no reason to doubt it.

45In so far as you are concerned, Ms Sekulovska, your counsel argued valiantly on your behalf as to your role in all this, and I am not going to go as I said then into some intellectualised process.  You owed this man and you allowed this to happen to him at the very most generous way of looking at it.  You had ample opportunity to let him go.  As I already said, anybody would have known that he was in very, very serious trouble as you watched him throughout this night.

46But on your behalf, I take into account the materials that have been provided and very helpful submissions.  I take into account the report of Ms Cidoni, which contains your history and also the report of Dr Barnes.

47You have been in custody previously.  Your situation is that you as a child had a very rough time.  You were one of six children.  You were subject to and saw domestic violence.  Domestic violence in relationships.  You resorted to prostitution.  You had a very difficult drug fuelled existence.  You have clearly had mental health issues for significant periods of time, including whilst you have been in custody.  The end of it all has been that you have been totally - I do not know what the right word is - but totally discarded by your family.  Your parents are dead.

48The partner that you had in Adam, apparently as I understand it, died in gaol.  As I understand your position, Mr Moussa only got out of gaol about a week before this occurred, but I have not seen nothing to confirm that.  You had a psychosis upon your being returned to prison last year and the report from
Mr Barnes is encouraging in that respect.  He says that at present - and this is in November of last year.

"At present, Ms Sekulovska is reviewed weekly after successfully transitioning to the general prison population last month."

49He said that following the initial period of distress and agitation associated with withdrawal delirium, you had always been willing to engage with clinicians and a collaborative therapeutic relationship with your multi-disciplinary team had been forged whilst in gaol.

50He said that you were working daily in the prison laundry and continuing to maintain positive relationships with both staff and co-prisoners.  Your mental state had remained relatively stable for some time and you successfully tolerated reduction of your medical regime back to a single anti-psychotic.  Clearly, you are making efforts within the gaol and what is available to you within the gaol to improve your position and to give you a chance of rehabilitation upon your ultimate release.

51Again, the report of Ms Cidoni, I have taken into account and there is matters in there that I do not need to go to, that everyone is aware of them.  But I am sure that they have had a lasting effect on you.  There is not much else that can realistically be said in mitigation.

52I am not going to go through your history, Mr Moussa.  It is a simple one.  Your parents separated in very unhappy circumstances.  You began drug use in your early teens.  You quickly went from cannabis to amphetamine, heroin, ectasia, benzodiazepines, methylamphetamine and GHB.  That has been your life now extended period of time.  I have already indicated the other aspects of your personalities that have been pointed out clearly in that report of Dr Cunningham.

53As far as you are concerned, Ms Sekulovska, you are doing everything you can.  I accept that and you had - obviously each of you have, but you have had a very, very difficult life.  The prospects of your rehabilitation are really in your hands.  The risk of you reoffending, bearing in mind your criminal history if you are released and start to use drugs again, is going to have to be high.

54So, taking all those matters into account as best I can and sentencing on the basis that the consequences were, as my understanding of the law, that once it is negligent serious injury.  Once there is an awareness of serious, it does not really matter how serious it becomes. But I think that in this situation, it must have been obvious.

55I intend to sentence you each as follows.  You each now have been in custody for a long, extended period of time.

56Firstly, you, Mr Moussa.

57On Charge 1, 12 months.  On Charge 2, 42 months.  On Charge 3, 12 months.  On Charge 4, 18 months.  On Charge 5, 48 months.  On Charge 6, 30 months.  On Charge 7, 18 months.  On Charge 8, 18 months.  On Charge 10, six months.  On Charge 11, nine months.  On Charge 12, six months.  On Charge 13,
18 months.  On Charge 14, 12 months.  On Charge 15, six months.

58Because this offending occurred in the one long drawn out incident, there clearly has to be very significant concurrency and what I am going to do it express it in terms of limited cumulation.

59Accordingly, four months of Charge 1, 18 months of Charge 2, four months of Charge 3, four months of Charge 4, 15 months of Charge 6, four months of Charge 7, four months of Charge 8, two months of Charge 10, three months of Charge 11, four months of Charge 18, four months of Charge 14 and two months of Charge 15 are to be served cumulatively upon each other and upon the sentence imposed on Charge 5.  Charge 12 will be totally concurrent.

60Accordingly, that is a total effective sentence of nine years and eight months.  I direct that you serve a minimum term of six years and six months before becoming eligible for parole, and I direct that a period of 673 days be reckoned as having been served under this sentence.

61You, Ms Sekulovska.

62Charge 5, 36 months.  Charge 6, 36 months.  Charge 14, 12 months.  Charge 15, six months.  The perjury on the other indictment, six months.

63I direct that 18 months of the sentence imposed on Charge 6, four months of the sentence imposed on Charge 14 and two months of the sentence imposed on Charge 15 be served cumulatively upon each other and upon the sentence imposed upon Charge 5.

64That gives an effective sentence on that indictment of five years.  I direct that two years of the sentence imposed on the perjury be served cumulatively upon that five years, giving an overall total effective sentence of five years and two months.  I direct that you serve a minimum term of three years and two months before becoming eligible for parole, and I direct that 485 days be reckoned as having been served under this sentence.

65As I have indicated, it is a lot of charges to be sentencing on and I endeavour to give proper effect to totality.  I say no more than that.  Any other orders I need to make.

66MR BOURKE:  No, Your Honour.  I just wanted to clarify.

67HIS HONOUR:  Yes.

68MR BOURKE:  In relation to Mr Moussa.

69HIS HONOUR:  Yes.

70MR BOURKE:  I am not going so far as on Charge 11, three months cumulative.

71HIS HONOUR:  Hang on.  I have already been told I have got it wrong.  The end result is the same.  So, what do you want to know.

72MR BOURKE:  Your Honour declared on Charge 11, three months cumulative.  Then I think you said Charge 12 was concurrent in total.

73HIS HONOUR:  Yes.

74MR BOURKE:  And then the next would be Charge 13, Your Honour.  Yes.  You just said Charge 18, that is all, of four months..

75HIS HONOUR:  Sorry.  I meant - no.  It is my handwriting.  Thirteen.

76MR BOURKE:  Thirteen, yes.  So, Charge 13, four months cumulative.

77HIS HONOUR:  Yes.

78MR BOURKE:  Yes, thank you, Your Honour.

79HIS HONOUR:  All right.  Now, Ms Warren.

80MS WARREN:  Sorry, Your Honour.  May I just add a correction to that.

81HIS HONOUR:  Yes.

82MS WARREN:  In relation to the perjury charge, Your Honour said two years cumulative, but clearly Your Honour meant two months.

83HIS HONOUR:  Two months I meant to say.

84MS WARREN:  Yes, thank you.  That is all, Your Honour.

85HIS HONOUR:  If I have given two years cumulative on a six month sentence, I will withdraw that, Ms Warren.

86MS WARREN:  That would be - no.  Yes.

87HIS HONOUR:  No, thank you for that.  Yes.  All right.  No orders have to be made.

88MR BOURKE:  No, I think they have all been made, Your Honour.

89HIS HONOUR:  No.  No other difficulties you have got, Ms Warren.

90MS WARREN:  No, Your Honour.  Thank you.

91HIS HONOUR:  All right.  Yes.

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