Regina v Galea; Regina v Yeo - [2000] NSWSC 301

CITATION: Regina v Galea; Regina v Yeo [2000] NSWSC 301

CURRENT JURISDICTION: Common Law

FILE NUMBER(S): SC 70040/98; 70208/98

HEARING DATE(S): 08/11/99 - 23/12/99
29/12/99 - 31/12/99
4/1/2000

JUDGMENT DATE: 12 April 2000

PARTIES :

Regina v Raymond Galea
Regina v Keng Hwee Yeo

JUDGMENT OF: Michael Grove J at 1

COUNSEL : B. Newport QC (Crown)
M. Ramage QC (Galea - Trial)
R.P. Greenhill SC (Galea - Sentence)
J. Spencer (Yeo)

SOLICITORS: Solicitor for Public Prosecutions (Crown)
Ferrier & Associates (Galea)
Horowitz & Bilinsky (Yeo)

LEGISLATION CITED: Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999

DECISION: Sentence

THE SUPREME COURT
OF NEW SOUTH WALES
COMMON LAW DIVISION

MICHAEL GROVE J

Wednesday 12 April 2000

70040/98 REGINA v RAYMOND GALEA
70208/98 REGINA v KENG HWEE YEO

SENTENCE

1    HIS HONOUR : Each of the prisoners was jointly indicted on a charge of murdering Christopher Mark Dorrian and, alternatively, of being an accessory after the fact to the commission of that murder by the co-accused. The jury found the prisoner Yeo guilty of murder and the prisoner Galea guilty of being an accessory after the fact to it.

2    It will be necessary to deal separately with each prisoner but there is some commonality in the facts with which I can deal for the purpose of sentence. It is important to bear in mind that the jury’s verdict necessarily implied that Galea did not participate in the actual commission of the murder. His culpability derives from his knowledge that Yeo had committed the murder and, with that knowledge, acted with the intention of assisting her to escape detection or prosecution.

3    At material times Yeo and Galea lived in a de facto relationship. Yeo was employed as a psychiatric nurse in the Palm Court Rehabilitation Unit at Rozelle Hospital. Galea worked under contract for a political organization, the Shooters Party. They lived in premises at Petersham. From time to time, both had been actively engaged in target pistol shooting. Galea kept a number of licensed firearms in a safe at the premises. Significant among these was a .22 calibre weapon known by the brand/manufacture name of High Standard Citation. Yeo knew where a spare key to the safe was located and thus had access to the safe and its contents.

4    Yeo met the victim Christopher Dorrian as a result of his being a patient at Palm Court. There is no need to detail their encounters. She decided to leave Galea. She had spent nights with Christopher Dorrian in nurses’ quarters at the hospital into which she had moved and at Petersham on an occasion when Galea was absent. Ultimately she leased a small flat at Lilyfield, in the interim arranging for a former fiance (not Galea) to accommodate Mr Dorrian for a few days.

5    The relationship between Yeo and Mr Dorrian was brief. I am satisfied that Yeo was motivated to kill him by a combination of her reaction to Mr Dorrian’s disinterest in establishing any relationship with her beyond engaging in…

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.

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Details

Case: [2000] NSWSC 301
Decision Date: 12 April 2000

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Regina v Galea; Regina v Yeo involved two defendants, Raymond Galea and Keng Hwee Yeo, who were jointly indicted on charges of murdering Christopher Mark Dorrian. The jury found Yeo guilty of the murder and Galea guilty of being an accessory after the fact to the murder. The court was required to determine appropriate sentences for both defendants, considering their roles in the crime and the objective and subjective circumstances surrounding the offence.

Michael Grove J, who presided over the case, highlighted the distinct roles of the defendants in the murder. Yeo was found to have killed Dorrian in a deliberate act, whereas Galea, despite not participating in the actual killing, aided Yeo in covering up the crime by dismembering and disposing of the body and cleaning the crime scene. The court examined the seriousness of the crime, the lack of remorse shown by both defendants, and their respective backgrounds and circumstances. While Grove J acknowledged the mitigating factors for Galea, such as his otherwise law-abiding nature and the impact of his imprisonment on his son, he ultimately determined that a substantial sentence was warranted given the objective severity of the crime and Galea's significant involvement in the cover-up.

The court sentenced Yeo to imprisonment for twenty-four years, with a non-parole period of eighteen years. Yeo became eligible for parole from 13 October 2017. Galea was sentenced to imprisonment for eight years, with a non-parole period of six years. Galea became eligible for parole from 19 September 2005. The court's decision reflected a balance between the gravity of the crime and the individual circumstances of each defendant.

Orders