R v Lau

[2020] NSWDC 843

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:

R v Lau [2020] NSWDC 843

Hearing dates:

5 June 2020; 15 December 2020

Decision date:

15 December 2020

Jurisdiction:

Criminal

Before:

Judge W Hunt

Decision:

Convicted

Sentence to imprisonment for 22 months to be served by means of an Intensive Corrections Order

Catchwords:

CRIMINAL LAW – Sentence – Attempt to possess marketable quantity of unlawfully imported border controlled drug – Methylamphetamine.

Legislation Cited:

Commonwealth Crimes Act

Commonwealth Criminal Code

Crimes Act

Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act

Judiciary Act

Cases Cited:

Dinsdale v R [2002] CLR 321

R v Fangaloka [2019] NSWCCA 173

R v Nozhat (No 3) [2019] ACT SC 160

R v Osenkowski [1982] 30 SASR 212 and 213; 5 A CRIM R 394

R v Todd [1982] 2 NSWLR 517

Wany v DPP [2020] NSWCCA 318

Webb v R [2020] NSWCCA 103

Wong & Leung v R [2001] 207 CLR 584

Xiao v R [2018] NSWCCA 4

Category:

Sentence

Parties:

The Crown
Ching Lau

Representation:

Counsel:
A.Wong – The Offender

Solicitors:
Director of Public Prosecutions – The Crown

File Number(s):

2019/193883

Judgment

1. HIS HONOUR: Ching Lau is before the Court for sentence in relation to one substantive offence in breach of s 307.6(1) and s 11.1(1) of the Commonwealth Criminal Code, in that she did attempt to possess a marketable quantity of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug, being methylamphetamine at a pure weight of 402.74 grams. I will have regard to the maximum penalty as a benchmark or a guidepost in the way contemplated by the authorities and as a way of comparing this case to the worst possible case. There is no matter to be taken into account on a schedule to s 16BA of the Commonwealth Crimes Act and there are no other matters to be dealt with at the conclusion of sentencing for the substantive count.

2. These reasons for the sentence are being given ex tempore. Today I received some further updated subjective material and gave the parties the chance to expand if they wished to on the two sets of careful written submissions which have been provided earlier.

3. Before I come to the principles for sentencing in federal offences, I make some short observations about the progress of this matter since it has been in the District Court. This is a matter in which Ms Lau pleaded guilty in the Local Court and was committed for sentence. It seems uncontroversial between the parties that she ought be accorded a 25% utilitarian discount in relation to that matter, following on from the determination of Xiao v R [2018] NSWCCA 4 and other cases that follow it in New South Wales.

4. The matter came before me for sentence on 5 June 2020. On that date I considered a raft of written evidence relied on both by the prosecution and by the offender. Additionally, I heard oral evidence from Ms Lau as to, first, her personal circumstances but more particularly, second, the circumstances of her offending and her…