R v Vu

[2020] NSWDC 955

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:

R v Vu [2020] NSWDC 955

Hearing dates:

29 October 2020

Date of orders:

29 October 2020

Decision date:

29 October 2020

Jurisdiction:

Criminal

Before:

Neilson DCJ

Decision:

See par [24].

Catchwords:

CRIME – SENTENCE – Take part in the cultivation of prohibited plants not less than the commercial quantity – Culpability of offender – Unique subjective factors.

Legislation Cited:

Nil.

Cases Cited:

Pham v R [2009] NSWCCA 266

R v Pui [2020] NSWDC 119

Truong v R [2009] NSWCCA 41

Texts Cited:

Nil.

Category:

Sentence

Parties:

Offender – Tien Dung Vu
R – Crown (NSW)

Representation:

R - L. Stueckradt
Offender – M. Ramage QC

File Number(s):

2020/00044827

Publication restriction:

Nil.

Judgment

1. HIS HONOUR: Tien Dung Vu stands for sentence as a consequence of pleading guilty to a charge that on 11 February 2020 at Marsfield in this State did take part in the cultivation of a number of prohibited plants, namely 98, which was not less than the commercial quantity applicable to that prohibited plant. The maximum penalty for that offence is imprisonment for 15 years and/or a fine of $385,000. There is no standard non parole period. The offender was arrested on 11 February 2020 and remained in custody until being granted bail by the Supreme Court on 16 April 2020. He accordingly has spent two months and six days in gaol.

2. Despite what is pleaded in the Court Attendance Notice, the property in question is named 120 Vimiera Road, Eastwood. Police became aware of suspicious activity at that address on 30 October 2019. They went to the property on 31 October 2019 and observed multiple phasing power cabling running from the street power, sourced to the property, and they could hear a faint humming noise from inside the property.

3. The police conducted a surveillance operation at that property from time to time. They identified a Toyota Camry car which was present at the property throughout the month of November 2019, but there was no suggestion that vehicle belonged to the offender. On 10 December 2019, police installed surveillance equipment and commenced covert surveillance. Police would also periodically attend the property each week to obtain images from the surveillance camera and to conduct actual surveillance. Multiple unknown Asian men aged between 25 and 30 attended the property in November 2019.

4. The offender was captured by closed circuit television to be at the property on 12 occasions over a six week period. The first occasion was 26 December 2019, Boxing Day. He was at the property for 20 minutes on that day. He attended on the following day, 27 December 2019, and was at the property for nine minutes, commencing at noon, and was in the company of an unknown man. He next attended the property on 3 January and was present for about two hours and 20 minutes. During that period, he retrieved the garbage bins from the street and removed a box of unknown items from a car…