Mudiawati Leota v The Queen

CITATION:	Mudiawati Leota v R [2007] NSWDC 146 This decision has been amended. Please see the end of the judgment for a list of the amendments.
HEARING DATE(S):	10.5.07, 25.5.07, 22.6.07
JUDGMENT DATE:	22 June 2007
JURISDICTION:	Criminal
JUDGMENT OF:	Woods QC DCJ
DECISION:	25.5.07 Appeal Upheld. Conviction and sentence imposed by Magistrate are quashed.; 22.6.07 Direction that the respondent pay costs in the sum of $18,766 to the Registrar or the Local Court at North Sydney within sixty days.
CATCHWORDS:	Offences against justice - failure to bring information to attention of police - misprision of felony - costs in criminal cases
LEGISLATION CITED:	Crimes Act 1900 Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001
PARTIES:	Mudiawati Leota [Appellant] NSW DPP [Respondent]
FILE NUMBER(S):	06/12/1403
COUNSEL:	Mr J Mehta (NSW DPP) Mr G Jones, Mr B Clarke (Appellant)

1 HIS HONOUR: The Bells Hotel in Woolloomooloo is a social and literary landmark of Sydney. In the early 1950’s it was purchased by Jimmy Carruthers after his retirement as a world champion boxer. This inspired the lines by poet Kenneth Slessor,

“God help the man who starts a blue
"In the Bells Hotel in Woolloomooloo...”

2 A “blue” in the Australian vernacular is a dispute or fight. This case is about a fight which took place in the Bells Hotel in Woolloomooloo on 17 or 18 December 2004. Unlike Jimmy Carruthers in this respect, the publican was no fighter. He was a peaceful and sociable businessman. In a front bar brawl, he died from a blow or blows through no fault of his own, and notwithstanding the assistance of his family and fellow workers who unsuccessfully came to his aid.

3 This is an appeal to the District Court against the conviction on 20 September 2006 in the Local Court at North Sydney of Mudiawati Leota for an offence against section 316 of New South Wales Crimes Act. The charge was, in brief, that she failed to do her duty and inform police of her knowledge that her husband and or three of his friends had murdered the publican at the Bells Hotel and caused grievous bodily harm.

4 Following police investigations, suspicion fell upon certain people, particularly Joseph Leota, the husband of the appellant and three friends of his.

5 On 14 February 2005, following appropriate warrants being obtained, a listening device was covertly installed at the house at Merrylands occupied by Joseph Leota and the appellant, his wife. Merrylands is a suburb in the west of Sydney, about thirty kilometres from Woolloomooloo.

6 Joseph Leota is a man of south sea island background; the appellant is from an Indonesian background.

7 On 18 February 2005 police released a compilation tape which showed closed circuit television footage of the brawl on the night of 17 or 18 December 2004 when the publican killed. Other television news footage showed a senior police officer calling for people possessing relevant information to come forward (Exhibit 4).

8 On 26 February 2005 the covert listening device…