R v Tran

The Supreme Court of South Australia, Court of Criminal Appeal, heard an appeal by Ms Tran against her convictions and sentence for money laundering and trafficking methylamphetamine. The prosecution's case was that Ms Tran acted in league with another individual, Tu Loan Le, to launder the proceeds of drug transactions through property purchases and a noodle business. Ms Tran was convicted on numerous money laundering counts and one count of trafficking a large commercial quantity of methylamphetamine. She also sought leave to appeal her sentence, arguing a lack of parity with the sentence imposed on Ms Le.

The primary legal issues before the court were the admissibility and proper use of evidence of "uncharged acts" or "discreditable conduct" led by the prosecution. This evidence was presented to demonstrate a pattern or system of money laundering engaged in by Ms Tran, thereby proving the character of the charged transactions. The court was required to determine whether the trial judge's directions to the jury regarding the permissible and impermissible uses of this evidence were sufficient under section 34R(1) of the *Evidence Act 1929* (SA). Additionally, the court considered the appeal against the sentence imposed, specifically the grounds of error and disparity.

The Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed the appeal against conviction. The judges agreed that the trial judge had correctly identified and explained the permissible use of the discreditable conduct evidence as proof of a system of money laundering, which in turn was probative of the character of the individual charged transactions. They found the trial judge's directions to be sufficient, noting that the extent of such directions is dictated by the circumstances of the case and the forensic issues, and does not necessitate an exhaustive explanation of every theoretical impermissible use. However, the appeal against sentence was allowed.

The Court of Criminal Appeal set aside the original sentence and imposed a new head sentence of eight and a half years imprisonment for the money laundering and dishonest dealing offences, and four years imprisonment for the trafficking offence, to be served cumulatively, resulting in a total head sentence of 12 years and six months. A non-parole period of seven years was set, and a pecuniary penalty of $50,000 was imposed. The sentence was backdated to commence on 23 November 2016.