R v Luu

The appellant was convicted of drug trafficking and fraud and sentenced to 11 years imprisonment with a parole eligibility date set at five and a half years. The appellant pleaded guilty to trafficking in dangerous drugs and possessing property suspected of being used in connection with the commission of a drug offence. She also pleaded guilty to one count of attempted fraud and three counts of fraud in respect of obtaining loans from ANZ by falsifying documents. The court had to decide whether the sentencing judge was correct in not reducing the parole eligibility date as a result of the appellant’s guilty plea. The appellant argued that the sentencing judge ought to have reduced the parole eligibility date as a result of her guilty plea. The court found that the sentencing judge did not err in not reducing the parole eligibility date. The court found that the sentencing judge was entitled to take into account the appellant’s guilty plea in determining the sentence but not in setting the parole eligibility date. The court found that to do so would have given the appellant a “double-benefit”. The appellant’s application for leave to appeal was dismissed.