R v Pham [2020] NSWDC 623

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Pham [2020] NSWDC 623 Hearing dates: 22 September 2020 Date of orders: 22 September 2020 Decision date: 22 September 2020 Jurisdiction: Criminal Before: Bennett SC DCJ Decision: Sentence of imprisonment of 3 years 3 months with a non-parole period of 1 year 9 months Catchwords: CRIME — Drug offences — Cultivate prohibited plant — Knowingly take part in cultivation SENTENCING — Mitigating factors — Unlikely to re-offend SENTENCING — Mitigating factors — Plea of guilty SENTENCING — Mitigating factors — Good character SENTENCING — Penalties — Imprisonment Legislation Cited: Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 Cases Cited: Imbornone v R [2017] NSWCCA 144 Markarian v R [2005] HCA 25 Muldrock v R [2011] HCA 39 R v Borkowski [2009] NSWCCA 102 R v Godden [2005] NSWCCA 160 R v Qutami [2001] NSWCCA 353 Tepania v R [2018] NSWCCA 247 Category: Sentence Parties: Regina (Crown) Van Thanh Pham (Offender) Representation: Nicholas Lawrence (Crown) Kellie Stares (counsel) (Offender)

Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) (Crown) Legal Aid Commission (NSW) (Offender) File Number(s): 2017/00236330

EX TEMPORE REVISED JUDGEMENT

Introduction 1. Van Thanh Pham pleaded guilty in the Local Court at Central to one charge contrary to s 23(2)(a) Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985. 2. The particulars appearing in the Court Attendance Notice include that he, between 17 July 2017 and 26 July 2017, at Bardwell Valley in the State of New South Wales did knowingly take part in the cultivation of a number of prohibited plants, namely 290 Cannabis Sativa, which is not less than the large commercial quantity applicable to that prohibited plant. 3. Schedule 1 Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act specifies that the large commercial quantity for cannabis plants cultivated by enhanced indoor means is 200. 4. The nature of the enterprise in which the offender was participating included the enhanced indoor cultivation of cannabis plants. The offender is not charged under the provision which creates the specific offence of cultivating cannabis by enhanced indoor means, however by force of other provisions in the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act by reason of the number of plants, he has attracted the maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and a fine represented by 20,000 penalty units with a standard non-parole period of 10 years imprisonment, which applies because of the quantity of the plants and the nature of the enterprise in the course of which they were cultivated.