Director of Public Prosecutions v Tabiei Yeganeh

[2019] VCC 1233

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

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR-19-00317

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

AZIZ TABIEI YEGANEH

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE MASON
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	9 August 2019
DATE OF SENTENCE:	9 August 2019
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Tabiei Yeganeh
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2019] VCC 1233

REASONS FOR SENTENCE

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Subject:Plea - sentencing

Catchwords:             Possess drug of dependence

Legislation Cited:    

Cases Cited:

Sentence:Charges dismissed without conviction

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr Z. Menon	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Ms J. Swiney	Victoria Legal Aid

HIS HONOUR:

[Mr Yeganeh having pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing a drug of dependence and the plea having been heard this day]

1Mr Yeganeh, can you please now stand.

2You understand now that the mere possession of these drugs is a criminal offence.  If you have these drugs in your possession - tablets, powder or whatever - and the police find them and analyse them and they have this substance in them, the law says that is an offence.  All right?

3Now, I accept that there are explanations for you having these drugs.  I accept that your act of taking possession of the drugs was of an unknown substance from a stranger, relying on that person's word of what these drugs were for and that your reasons were - that you believed - that one of them would assist your sexual performance and the other containing some morphine was for pain. 

4I can accept that other countries have more relaxed rules about possession of drugs such as morphine in particular.  But you cannot take that risk in Australia. 

5I accept that your act in taking this substance from someone you did not know in those circumstances was more foolish than a criminal act, and that you were encouraged to take possession on a false assurance of what the drugs were. 

6I know from the evidence before me that you have not committed any other offences in Australia.  You have been here for seven years.  You are trying to work hard and establish a life in this country.  You are hopeful that your fiancée can now come from Iran, that she has a place at a university here to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry. 

7You are regarded as a man of good character. 

8You are essentially a good man and if you act with responsibility and work hard you will have a good life in Australia. 

9I think you have learnt a good lesson from the experience that you have been through over the past two years worrying about these charges and I think that justice demands that no barriers are put in your way that would impede your future in this country, whether to gain employment or to keep employment or affect your life in other ways. 

10So for those reasons, and also the fact that the drugs were of absolutely minimal quantity, I am prepared to dismiss each of these charges unconditionally, with no conviction being recorded. 

11Was there anything else?

12MR MENON:  No, Your Honour.  Just the disposal orders, which my instructor will forward ‑ ‑ ‑ 

13HIS HONOUR:  I will make the disposal orders today, for the reason that they are unopposed?

14MS SWINEY:  Yes, Your Honour.

15HIS HONOUR:  And if the formal document is provided to me in chambers,
I will sign those orders.

16MR MENON:  As Your Honour pleases.

17HIS HONOUR:  All right, well, you have had a good lesson worrying about these matters and there is no reason why you can't get on with your life.

18OFFENDER:  Yes, thank you.

19HIS HONOUR:  But do not take this sort of reckless risk ever again.

20OFFENDER:  Sir, thank you.

21HIS HONOUR:  All right, well this matter is finished, so I will just leave the Bench until the other matter re-assembles. 

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