Director of Public Prosecutions v Singh

[2019] VCC 890

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

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR-18-01473

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

RAVINDER SINGH

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE BOURKE (Sentence of Her Honour Judge HARBISON)
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	18 June 2019
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Singh
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2019] VCC 890

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:
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Cases Cited:
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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Ms T. Schultz
For the Accused	Mr D. Kozlowski

HIS HONOUR:

1Ravinder Singh, you have pleaded guilty before this court to one charge of supplying a drug of dependence to a child and one charge of using a drug of dependence.  

2At the time of the offending, you were 31 years old and the children involved were three girls.  One was aged 17, the other two girls were aged 14 years old and 16 years old. 

3The offending took place during the evening of Sunday 18 June 2017, into the early hours of 19 June.  There was a small party in a unit in Bright, rented by a friend of yours.  Your friend is the father of the 16-year-old.  You were invited to the party and the other attendees with the three young girls. 

4At the time you arrived at the party, the girls had been drinking and were affected to varying degrees by alcohol.  You took two of the girls to your home in order to pick up cannabis that you had stored in your home.  You then returned to the unit with the intention to share the cannabis with the girls.  You prepared the cannabis in the form of a joint and used it yourself and shared it with the three girls.  Each of the girls were affected to varying degrees by the cannabis. 

5You were arrested on 23 June 2017.  In your first record of interview, you denied having smoked cannabis at the party but admitted that that two of the girls had smoked weed in your presence.  You later admitted that you had lied to police in that first interview and admitted that you had obtained the cannabis as I have described. 

6You admitted the offence and indicated an intention to plead guilty to this charge at committal.  That is to be taken in your favour, both as an indication of remorse and because it has saved the community and the victims the holding of a trial. 

7I was told something of your personal circumstances at the time of your plea.  They are as follows. 

8I sentence you as a man of otherwise good character, as you have never before come into contact with the criminal law, either in Australia or, as far as I know, overseas. 

9You are 33 years old and you were born in India to parents who still live in your home country.  You are single.  You completed you secondary and tertiary education in India and are qualified in accountancy. 

10In the year 2017, you decided to move to Australia and, whilst in this country, you studied hospitality and specialised in training as a chef.  You have worked in hospitality in Victoria ever since that time.  You have moved around in various places in Victoria and, at the time of the offending, you were working as a chef in Bright.

11You have recently suffered from injuries sustained in a motorcar accident and as a result of those injuries have been unable to work.  You are living on savings and long-service leave.  You are not eligible for any benefits in Australia and so your parents have been helping you with money.  You have a great deal of medical treatment ahead of you for those injuries but soon need to return to work in order to support yourself in this country. 

12You were brought to Australia on a s.457 sponsored skilled worker visa but you left the sponsored position and so your immigration status is now in flux.  You are on a bridging visa pending a Federal Court review of your position. 

13As I have detailed, the incident in which you supplied cannabis to these girls occurred at a party.  Both the girls and yourself had been drinking for some time.  One of the girls suggested or initiated the cannabis being produced.  I accept that the offending was unplanned and opportunistic and that it constituted an isolated incident.  There is no question at all about you obtaining any financial advantage from supplying the drugs.  They were supplied free to the girls.  I interrupt to say that when I use the first person, my intention is to state the position or the findings of Judge Harbison. 

14I accept that you have very good prospects of rehabilitation and I treat this incident as being an isolated one, as to which you made a bad judgment call whilst you were under the influence of alcohol. 

15The offence of supplying a drug of dependence to a child is a serious one; the maximum penalty for such an offence is 15 years' imprisonment.  I accept that your offending was aggravated by the fact that you well knew that each of the children had been drinking alcohol and you should have reasonably expected that their condition would be significantly affected by the cannabis. 

16There are no victim impact statements.  This arises out of the fact that you were originally charged with rape as a consequence of an interaction between yourself and one of the girls at the party.  Each of the victims in relation to this charge gave evidence at that trial.  You were acquitted of that charge.  However, the girls have decided not to become further involved. 

17Your counsel submitted that a fine would be an appropriate sentence for you.  However, in my view, you do not have the financial resources at the moment to pay a fine.  In any event, a better outcome for the community would be for you to put something back into the community by way of community work under a community corrections order.  I therefore have received a report as to your suitability for such an order.

18I have determined, on the basis of that report, that it is appropriate for you to be sentenced to a community corrections order.  Your counsel submitted to me that I should consider doing so without conviction.  In my view, the offence is a serious one and requires conviction.  You will therefore be convicted and sentenced to undergo a community corrections order. 

19The terms of the order need to be explained to you. 

20On the summary charge of using a drug of dependence, you are convicted and discharged.  On the indictable charge of supplying a drug of dependence to a child, you are convicted and released on a community corrections order.  The term of the order will be 12 months.  It is ordered that you perform community work over that 12 months, the hours to be performed will be 350 hours. 

21There are also some standard conditions of the community corrections order and they will be read out to you now.  If you agree to these conditions then you should sign the document when my associate brings it to you. 

22Section 6AAA of the Sentencing Act, it requires me to state the sentence and non-parole period, if any, that would have been imposed in respect of the offence, but for the plea of guilty. 

23Pursuant to s.6AAA and taking into account the matters I have previously referred to as relevant to the weight to be given to your guilty plea, I state that but for you plea, the sentence imposed would have been as follows, on Count 1, you would have been convicted and sentenced for three months' imprisonment. That is the indictable offence, as I presume. I further direct, pursuant to s.6AAA, that the sentence that would have been imposed, but for the plea of guilty, be noted in the records of the court.

24It falls for me to read out to you the usual and, in this case, additional conditions attached to this order, and you need to sign a document indicating your agreement and understanding.  You can come out of the dock and, at the moment, sit near Mr Kozlowski, please.  Mr Singh, you can come out of the dock. 

25Now, on the indictable offence of supplying a drug of dependence to a child, you are convicted and sentenced to a community corrections order.  It will last of 12 months and accordingly, commences today and ends on 17 June 2020.  You must attend at the Wangaratta Community Correctional Services - the address is here and you will get the document - within two clear working days after the start of the order. 

26The usual terms that apply to all such orders are that you must not commit another offence for which you could have been imprisoned during the time of the order.  You must comply with an obligation or requirement under regulation that you do not attend any appointment, worksite or other obligation affected by alcohol or drugs or in possession of illegal drugs. 

27You must report to and receive visits from Community Corrections.  You must report to the Community Corrections office - I have identified - within two working days, as I have stated.  You must let Community Corrections know within two days of a change of address or job.  You must not leave Victoria without first getting permission from them to do so.  You must obey all of their lawful instructions and directions.

28The additional condition is that you perform 350 hours of unpaid community work over that period of 12 months as you are directed.  Do you understand those conditions and that order?

29OFFENDER:  Yes.

30HIS HONOUR:  And do you consent to the order being made?

31OFFENDER:  Yes.

32HIS HONOUR:  Well, if so, I will get you sign the order and then I will sign it.  And there is nothing else to do?

33MR KOZLOWSKI:  No.

34MS SCHULTZ:  No, Your Honour.

35HIS HONOUR:  Thank you, you are both excused.

36MR KOZLOWSKI:  Thank you.

37MS SCHULTZ:  Thank you, Your Honour.

38HIS HONOUR:  You may go, Mr Singh.

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