Cheng v The King - [2024] NZCA 598

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF NEW ZEALAND

I TE KŌTI PĪRA O AOTEAROA

CA262/2024
[2024] NZCA 598

BETWEEN	JIANZHONG CHENG Appellant
AND	THE KING Respondent

Hearing:	7 October 2024
Court:	Hinton, Brewer and Osborne JJ
Counsel:	A Wei and C S Fredric for Appellant H D L Steele and D Becker for Respondent
Judgment:	18 November 2024 at 11 am

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

The appeal is dismissed.

____________________________________________________________________

REASONS OF THE COURT

(Given by Osborne J)

Introduction

Jianzhong Cheng pleaded guilty to 18 charges involving serious drug offending. The offending occurred between April 2020 and April 2021. Judge B A Gibson sentenced Mr Cheng to nine years and six months’ imprisonment.[1] Mr Cheng appeals his sentence on the basis it was manifestly excessive.

The offending

[1]R v Cheng [2024] NZDC 3635 [sentencing notes].

Mr Cheng’s charges arose from a police operation which was focused on the activities of an organised criminal group involved in the laundering of over $10 million in cash obtained from the importation and supply of controlled drugs. Mr Cheng was one of the members of the group involved in the importation and supply of significant quantities of Class A, B, and C controlled drugs.
Mr Cheng was involved in the importation of at least 13.055 kilograms of ephedrine over six separate occasions;[2] 5.826 kilograms of pseudoephedrine on one occasion; and 3.91 kilograms of ketamine over two separate occasions.
[2]The sentencing Judge and the Crown have referred to 17 kilograms of ephedrine. We note the quantity recovered for three of the six importation charges is unknown. The remaining three add to 13.055 kilograms. We therefore refer to “at least” 13.055 kilograms in this judgment.
Mr Cheng was also involved in the supply operation. He was in possession of 956.7 grams of methamphetamine for the purpose of supply; supplied at least 100 grams of methamphetamine over two separate occasions; was in possession of 3.936 kilograms of ephedrine for the purpose of supply; and supplied 9.64 kilograms of ephedrine over five separate occasions.
Mr Cheng was a middleman between a more senior member of the group (Ms Wei) and methamphetamine manufacturers. He received packages, unpacked them, took photographs and videos of the process, and sent those to Ms Wei. He was an integral part of the subsequent supply operation, supplying ephedrine to methamphetamine manufacturers and methamphetamine to customers under instructions from Ms Wei.
Mr Cheng explained the reason for his offending was he had experienced difficulty in paying off a personal debt. He was fully aware that it was drugs he was transporting, and was motivated to do it due to a lack of money. He said he never thought of the social impact of drug abuse on the community.
There is no suggestion that Mr Cheng either uses drugs or has a drug addiction that required funding.

Sentencing notes

The Judge took the methamphetamine offending (Class A) as the lead offending. He identified that, as the offending involved less than two kilograms, it fell within…

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 Cheng v The King

Details

AGLC: Cheng v The King [2024] NZCA 598
Case: [2024] NZCA 598
Decision Date: 18 November 2024 at 11 am

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the New Zealand Court of Appeal, Jianzhong Cheng appeals against his nine years and six months’ imprisonment sentence for serious drug offending. The offending, which occurred between April 2020 and April 2021, involved the importation and supply of significant quantities of Class A, B, and C controlled drugs. The Court of Appeal considers whether the sentence was manifestly excessive. The court finds the starting point of 15 years' imprisonment, which included an uplift for the Class B and C offending, was within the appropriate range. The court also rejects Cheng's arguments regarding the credit for guilty pleas, the s 27 report, the credit for previous good character, and the credit for difficulties of imprisonment. The Court of Appeal concludes that the sentence was not manifestly excessive and dismisses the appeal.

Orders