R v Giang - [2025] NSWDC 362

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Giang [2025] NSWDC 362
Hearing dates: 5 September 2025
Decision date: 29 September 2025
Jurisdiction: Criminal
Before: Colefax SC DCJ
Decision:
Offence: detain with intent to obtain advantage and cause actual bodily harm (DV): imprisonment for 8 years with a non parole period of 5 years; offence: do act intending to pervert the course of justice: fixed term of imprisonment of 4 years - to be served totally concurrent with sentence for detain offence.

Catchwords:
CRIME - SENTENCE - detain with intent to obtain advantage and cause actual bodily harm (DV); do act to pervert course of justice

Legislation Cited:
Crimes Act 1900 (NSW): ss 86(2)(b) and 319

Cases Cited:
DPP (C’th) v De La Rosa (2010) 79 NSWLR 1; Yaman v R [2020] NSWCCA 239

Category: Sentence
Parties:
Rex (Crown)
Tuan Giang (Offender)
Representation:
Mr Paish (Crown Prosecutor)
Mr D.Smith (Counsel for offender)

File Number(s): 2022/270368

JUDGMENT

Tuan Giang, on 12 March 2025, following a trial upon indictment …76.2, a jury found you guilty of two offences.
The first offence was, in circumstances of aggravation, detaining your wife (Ms Nguyen, from whom you were separated), without her consent, with the intention of obtaining an advantage. This was Count 1 on the indictment.
The circumstance of aggravation was that, in detaining Ms Nguyen, you caused her actual bodily harm.
There were in fact two advantages which I am satisfied, beyond reasonable doubt, that you had intended to obtain. The first was the retraction of allegations Ms Nguyen made against you to police on 25 June 2022 which gave rise to proceedings in the Local Court. The second was to obtain the custody from her of your son.
The first offence involves a contravention of s86(2)(b) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). The maximum penalty for that offence is 20 years imprisonment. There is no standard non-parole period.
The second offence was doing an act with the intention of perverting the course of justice. This was Count 3 on the indictment.
The acts with which the second offence was concerned was recording statements which you coerced Ms Nguyen to make, and being the first advantage I have just referred to.
The second offence involves a contravention of s319 of the Crimes Act. The maximum penalty for that offence is 14 years imprisonment. There is no standard non-parole period.
Consistently with the verdicts of the jury, I am satisfied, beyond reasonable doubt, of the following facts concerning the first and second offences.
You were born in December 1977; and Ms Nguyen was born in August 1982.
In January 2003, you married Ms Nguyen in Vietnam.
Two children were subsequently born to that marriage: a daughter who was born in November 2004; and a son who was born in February 2013.
In December 2019, you, Ms Nguyen, and your two children migrated from Vietnam to Australia.
Immediately before your migration to Australia, you were a branch manager of a bank…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading R v Giang

Details

AGLC: R v Giang [2025] NSWDC 362
Case: [2025] NSWDC 362
Decision Date: 29 September 2025

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Giang was convicted of detaining a woman with intent to obtain an advantage and cause her actual bodily harm and of doing an act with intent to pervert the course of justice. The appeal against sentence was dismissed. The court heard the appeal against conviction and sentence. The appeal against conviction was dismissed. The appeal against sentence focused on the sentence imposed by the trial judge. The trial judge had imposed an 8-year sentence for the first offence, with a non-parole period of 5 years, and a concurrent 4-year sentence for the second offence. The appellant submitted that the sentence was manifestly excessive. The court found that the appellant had no case in respect of the sentence imposed for the first offence. The appellant had made a number of complaints about the sentence imposed for the second offence. The court was unable to accept that the sentence for the second offence was manifestly excessive. The sentence for the second offence was not excessive. The appeal against sentence was dismissed. The appellant's appeal against conviction having been dismissed, the appeal against sentence is dismissed. The orders of the Supreme Court are affirmed.

Orders

Orders of the court

Offence: detain with intent to obtain advantage and cause actual bodily harm (DV): imprisonment for 8 years with a non parole period of 5 years; offence: do act intending to pervert the course of justice: fixed term of imprisonment of 4 years - to be served totally concurrent with sentence for detain offence.

Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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Medium Neutral Citation:	R v Giang [2025] NSWDC 362
Hearing dates:	5 September 2025
Decision date:	29 September 2025
Jurisdiction:	Criminal
Before:	Colefax SC DCJ
Decision:	Offence: detain with intent to obtain advantage and cause actual bodily harm (DV): imprisonment for 8 years with a non parole period of 5 years; offence: do act intending to pervert the course of justice: fixed term of imprisonment of 4 years - to be served totally concurrent with sentence for detain offence.
Catchwords:	CRIME - SENTENCE - detain with intent to obtain advantage and cause actual bodily harm (DV); do act to pervert course of justice
Legislation Cited:	Crimes Act 1900 (NSW): ss 86(2)(b) and 319
Cases Cited:	DPP (C’th) v De La Rosa (2010) 79 NSWLR 1; Yaman v R [2020] NSWCCA 239
Category:	Sentence
Parties:	Rex (Crown) Tuan Giang (Offender)
Representation:	Mr Paish (Crown Prosecutor) Mr D.Smith (Counsel for offender)
File Number(s):	2022/270368