Director of Public Prosecutions v Sodhi
[2018] VCC 1554
•3 October 2018
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA AT MELBOURNE CRIMINAL DIVISION | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
Case No. CR-18-01002
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| SUKHWANT SODHI |
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JUDGE: | HER HONOUR JUDGE LAWSON | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF PLEA HEARING: | 20 September 2018 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 3 October 2018 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Sodhi | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2018] VCC 1554 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Catchwords: Criminal law – Sentencing – Dangerous driving causing death – Dangerous driving causing serious injury – Powerful mitigating circumstances – Low moral culpability – Rare circumstances - Community Correction Order imposed
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the DPP | Ms R Harper (for plea) Mr M. Vella (for sentence) | John Cain, Solicitor for Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Mr V Nath | H Silwa Lawyers |
HER HONOUR:
1 Sukhwant Sodhi, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of dangerous driving causing death and one charge of dangerous driving causing serious injury.
2 The charges are serious, and that is reflected in the maximum penalty prescribed by law, that is, 10 years’ imprisonment in respect to the charge of dangerous driving causing death and 5 years’ imprisonment in respect to the charge of dangerous driving causing serious injury.
3 I shall proceed to sentence you on the basis of the summary of the prosecution opening that was read at the plea hearing and that was marked as Exhibit 1.
4 The charges arise out of an incident that occurred on Sunday, 8 October 2017 at approximately 1.10 pm, when the vehicle that you were driving left the roadway and collided with a tree whilst you were attempting to negotiate a tight left curve at the entry to a rest area known as the Balmattum rest area.
5 The rest area is set back from the Hume Freeway in a rural area located between Violet Town and Euroa.
6 As a result of the collision, your sister-in-law, Harminder Sodhi, suffered serious injuries from which she later died on 6 November 2017. That constitutes Charge 1, dangerous driving causing death.
7 Your wife, Gurpreet Sodhi, also suffered serious injuries and they are set out in paragraph 24 of the opening. She suffered, in brief, traumatic abdominal injuries, complex comminuted left rib fractures of the 10th and 11th ribs, bruising to the neck and left flank, and lung tissue collapse of both lungs.
8 All of those injuries necessitated emergency surgery, following which your wife has made a good recovery from her physical injuries. Those circumstances constitute Charge 2, dangerous driving causing serious injury.
9 You were arrested and interviewed at the scene of the collision. During that interview, when asked by police if you were going too fast to take the corner, you said, “I think so, yeah.”
10 You were open with the police and told them that you had been driving on the highway and that you had tried to turn into the rest area and lost control.
11 When formally interviewed, you informed the police about the circumstances of the collision in an open way. It is not suggested in any way that you were speeding at the time of the collision.
12 The Crown accepts through the prosecutor that the collision occurred as a result of a momentary lapse of concentration on your part. There are no aggravating features that are usually associated with such charges as you have been charged with, such as speed, alcohol, drugs or persistent bad driving.
13 They are nonetheless serious charges; however, having regard to the particular circumstances of the collision, I consider that the gravity of your offending represents the lowest form of conduct that is represented in the broad spectrum of the type of cases that come before the courts in respect to these type of charges and you will be sentenced accordingly.
14 I have been told about your personal history and background. You are now 49 and were 48 at the date of the collision. You live with your wife and your two children, your daughter, Kushpreet, 17, and Angad, a son, aged 12. You have taken on the responsibility for the care of the deceased’s two children, Taneshwar and Karleen, who are aged 16 and 14 respectively.
15 The context to the offending was that your family, including your brother and sister-in‑law’s family, had travelled together to Sydney to attend some Sikh religious ceremonies. The collision occurred whilst you were travelling back home to Melbourne.
16 You were born in Punjab in the north of India. Your family settled in Pune in southern India. You completed the equivalent of Year 12 and then did a Diploma in Automotive. You worked in the automotive industry in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, and following your migration to Australia in August 2004, you joined Berwick Toyota where you have remained employed.
17 You live in Narre Warren South with your family and your brother and his two children. Since the collision your wife has ceased work and now is the primary carer for all four children.
18 You come from a close-knit family and you are Sikh by religion. You attend the temple regularly. You keep in regular contact with your extended family members both here and overseas.
19 You come before the court with no prior criminal history. You are entitled to have that fact taken into account and I do so. I accept that you are otherwise a person of good character.
20 The bundle of reference material provided confirms that you are a person who is held in high regard. You are considered to be a very honest, responsible, religious family man, who holds positive life values, who is generous and kind to others and always willing to assist in any way that you can. At work you provide great mentorship to the younger technicians.
21 The tragic consequences of this collision have been far-reaching. There were no victim impact statements filed. I have had regard to the circumstances generally.
22 Mr Terry Bartlett, psychologist, has been providing counselling to you in respect to the difficulties that you have suffered. You have suffered depressive symptoms following the traumatic collision. You have a feeling of deep sadness and regret about your sister-in‑law’s death. You feel a great deal of pain for your niece and nephew, who have suffered the loss of their mother at such a young age.
23 You are working hard to provide for your extended family and to care properly for your sister-in-law's children. As well, you are doing more work at home. You take all four children to the Sikh temple on the weekend.
24 You have the strong and ongoing broad support of your immediate family, friends, and community.
25 Dr Roshan Mendis, your GP, supports you and has been regularly treating you over the past five years for an ongoing back problem as well as for your deteriorating mental health associated with the difficulties that you have had coping with the consequences of this collision.
26 You are now the sole breadwinner for the family, and you are continuing to meet your mortgage commitments at your home in Narre Warren.
27 I have taken into account all the mitigating factors and in particular, I consider that your plea has real utilitarian value. It is accepted by the prosecution that it was entered at the earliest opportunity, at committal mention on 10 May 2018. Through the plea, you have saved the community the cost and inconvenience of a trial, and in particular you have spared the victims, your wife and your brother-in-law, the further tragedy or trauma of having to come to court to give evidence at the trial.
28 Your plea is an indication of the acceptance of responsibility on your behalf and your willingness to facilitate justice. Your sentence will be discounted accordingly.
29 I am satisfied that there is evidence of genuine remorse reflected in all of the material that has been provided to the court. Remorse of this kind indicates realistic prospects for rehabilitation and a reduced need for specific deterrence.
30 You fully understand the wrongfulness of your actions and the offending and its impact upon the victims. You are conducting yourself in a manner that supports both your brother and the children of the deceased in a very meaningful way.
31 I find that the likelihood of your reoffending is negligible and I am satisfied that you have excellent prospects of rehabilitation.
32 General deterrence is still a factor in offences of this nature. Specific deterrence is also relevant, though somewhat moderated having regard to my earlier findings and the rare circumstances of this case.
33 I have had regard to the guideline judgment of Boulton v The Queen.[1]
[1][2014] VSCA 342
34 Notwithstanding the serious nature of the charges, I consider that a Community Correction Order is appropriate punishment in all the circumstances.
35 Ms Harper, the Crown prosecutor, agreed in the rare circumstances of this case that such a disposition is one that is available to the court.
36 You have paid a high personal price for your momentary misjudgement and you will live with the consequences of your actions forevermore.
37 In all the circumstances, I do consider that it is appropriate to make a non-custodial order even though the offending resulted in the loss of life of your sister in law and caused serious injury to your wife.
38 As I have already discussed with your counsel, Mr Nath, you have been assessed as being suitable for a Community Correction Order and you have been assessed as being a low risk of general reoffending therefore minimal order conditions are recommended and I have accepted those recommendations.
39 In sentencing you, I must impose just punishment.
40 The formal court orders are as follows.
41 In respect to both charges on the indictment, you will be convicted and ordered to be placed on a Community Correction Order for a period of three years with the condition that you undertake 200 hours of unpaid community work.
42 You have had explained to you the mandatory conditions of such an order and the consequences of contravention of such an order, and you consent to the making of that order.
43 I make the following declaration pursuant to s.6AAA: but for your plea of guilty, I would have imposed a term of imprisonment of three years, to serve two years.
44 Following your convictions, any licence you hold shall be cancelled and you will be disqualified from obtaining a licence for a minimum term of 18 months pursuant to s.89(2) of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic).
45 Finally, I make the forensic sample order sought pursuant to s.464ZF of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) having regard to the seriousness of the offending, the fact that the order is consented to, I consider it is in the public interest.
46 So that completes the orders, are there any other ancillary orders? Have I signed - - -
47 MR VELLA: No, Your Honour, it occurred to me as I arrived at court this morning that due to an oversight by myself, a draft has not been provided to the court of those orders - - -
48 HER HONOUR: That's all right.
49 MR VELLA: - - - and I will endeavour to do that when I get back to the office after court this morning and provide it to your associate if that's convenient for the court?
50 HER HONOUR: All right. That's fine, that's fine. I'll just explain to Mr Sodhi what that means. Mr Sodhi, there's an order that's been made today by the court that requires you to attend a police station to provide a forensic sample. What that involves in reality is they give you a little cotton bud to place inside your mouth and you just scrape it on the inside of the mouth, and provided that you do that, you have complied with the order. I just have to let you know, if you don't comply with the requests that reasonable force can be used to do that forensic procedure and that involves the taking of a blood sample but I'm sure in your case that won't be necessary. I'll sign that order and you will be directed to attend a police station near to your home in the next 28 days, isn't it?
51 MR VELLA: Yes, I believe that's correct, Your Honour.
52 HER HONOUR: Yes, so that order will be made and sent to your solicitor.
53 MR NATH: Your Honour pleases.
54 MR VELLA: As Your Honour pleases.
55 HER HONOUR: So thank you both for your assistance, we can adjourn. That can be signed.
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