R v Sultani - [2023] NSWSC 645

Supreme Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Sultani [2023] NSWSC 645
Hearing dates: 13 June 2023
Date of orders: 13 June 2023
Decision date: 13 June 2023
Jurisdiction: Common Law
Before: Hamill J
Decision:
Sentenced to imprisonment for 20 years, commencing on 9 November 2020 and expiring on 8 November 2040, with a non-parole period of 15 years commencing on 9 November 2020 and expiring on 8 November 2035.

Catchwords:
CRIMINAL LAW – sentencing – murder – gangland violence – sentencing exercise overtaken by events – offender serving three life sentences for subsequent murders – brutal attack on rival drug dealer – aggravating circumstances – offence in company involving use of weapons – no intention to kill – transmogrification of shy and intelligent middle child of conservative and hardworking family into a notorious gangster – determinate sentence imposed – concurrent with life sentences – sad waste of a life

Legislation Cited:
Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), s 19A
Crimes (High Risk Offenders) Act 2006 (NSW)
Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), Pt 4 Div 1, ss 3A, 21A(2)(c), 21A(2)(e), 21A(2)(n)

Cases Cited:
Muldrock v The Queen (2011) 244 CLR 120; [2011] HCA 39
R v Abdaly; R v Hosseinishoja (No 6) (Verdict) [2022] NSWSC 1658
R v Qaumi & Qaumi (No 12) [2017] NSWSC 134
R v Sultani; R v Munshizada; R v Baines; R v Danishyar [2021] NSWSC 1654

Category: Principal judgment
Parties: Rex
Abuzar Sultani
Representation:
Counsel:
D Patch (Rex)
M Ainsworth (Sultani)
Solicitors:
Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Rex)
John B. Hajje & Associates (Sultani)

File Number(s): 2020/319535
Publication restriction: This judgment has been anonymised in accordance with suppression orders made on 19 September 2022.

EX TEMPORE JUDGMENT (REVISED)

I am called upon today to sentence Abuzar Sultani for a murder committed just a little more than ten years ago. The victim of the murder, Nikola Srbin, died on 5 June 2013 and the assault which caused his death occurred on 16 May 2013. Since then, events have made this process somewhat academic, because on 17 December of 2021 Mr Sultani was sentenced to three life sentences by Fagan J: R v Sultani; R v Munshizada; R v Baines; R v Danishyar [2021] NSWSC 1654.
Nevertheless, sentencing Mr Sultani for this crime is important because a man has been killed and the Court must vindicate the sanctity of all human life and the dignity of the individual deceased. It must also denounce the crime and impose appropriate punishment for what is unquestionably a serious example of gangland violence.
Mr Sultani pleaded guilty on 26 October 2022. The plea was entered before the commencement of his trial with two co-accused, each of whom were subsequently found not guilty,[1] and during the pre-trial processes leading up to the trial. The sentence has been delayed while the co-accused faced trial and for various other reasons of no importance at this moment.
1. R v Abdaly; R v Hosseinishoja (No 6) (Verdict) [2022] NSWSC 1658

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 Sultani

Details

AGLC: R v Sultani [2023] NSWSC 645
Case: [2023] NSWSC 645
Decision Date: 13 June 2023

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of R v Sultani, the defendant stood before the Supreme Court of New South Wales, facing sentencing for the brutal murder of a rival drug dealer. The attack was part of a larger context of gangland violence and had significant aggravating circumstances, including the involvement of multiple offenders, the use of weapons, and the premeditated nature of the attack. Despite the severity of the crime, the court was mindful that the defendant, previously a shy and intelligent middle child from a conservative and hardworking family, had not intended to kill the victim.

The court was required to weigh various factors in its sentencing decision, including the circumstances of the offence, the character of the offender, and the need for deterrence and denunciation. A key issue was the extent to which the offender's prior criminal history, which included three life sentences for subsequent murders, should influence the current sentence. Additionally, the court considered the transformation of the defendant from a quiet family member to a notorious gangster, and how this change affected the appropriate punishment.

In delivering its judgment, the court found that the brutal nature of the attack and the circumstances surrounding it warranted a severe penalty. However, it also took into account the defendant's lack of intent to kill and his troubled background. Ultimately, the court imposed a determinate sentence for the murder, which was to run concurrently with the defendant's existing life sentences. This decision recognised the gravity of the crime while also reflecting the unique circumstances of the offender's life and criminal trajectory.

The court's final orders included the imposition of a determinate sentence for the murder, to be served concurrently with the defendant's existing life sentences, thereby ensuring that the punishment was commensurate with the severity of the crime and the offender's criminal history.

Orders