R v Cheong [2021] NSWDC 556

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Cheong [2021] NSWDC 556 Hearing dates: 27 August 2021 Date of orders: 15 October 2021 Decision date: 15 October 2021 Jurisdiction: Criminal Before: Mahony SC DCJ Decision: Full-time custodial sentence. For orders see [106] Catchwords: CRIME – supply prohibited drug greater than large commercial quantity – knowingly direct activities of criminal group. Legislation Cited: Crime (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 Crimes Act 1900 Drug Misuse & Trafficking Act 1985 Cases Cited: Blanco v R [1999] NSWCCA 121 DPP (Cth) v De La Rosa (2010) 79 NSWLR 1; [2010] NSWCCA 194 Lai v R [2021] NSWCCA 217 Mill v The Queen (1988) 166 CLR 59 Ozan v R [2021] NSWCCA 231 Parente v R [2017] NSWCCA 284 R v Daley [2003] NSWCCA 109 R v Hathaway [2005] NSWCCA 368 R v Macdonnell (2002) 128 A Crim R 44; [2002] NSWCCA 34 R v Shi [2004] NSWCCA 135 R v Shortland [2018] NSWCCA 34 R v Todd [1982] 2 NSWLR 517 Category: Sentence Parties: Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown) Shi Loon Cheong (Offender) Representation: Counsel: F. Santisi (Offender)

Solicitor/Trial Advocate: K. McKenzie (Crown) File Number(s): 2015/353676

remarks on sentence 1. The offender is to be sentenced in respect of the following two offences to which he has pleaded guilty: Count 1 – supply prohibited drug greater than large commercial quantity (49.559 kilograms of methylamphetamine). This offence is pursuant to s 25(2) of the Drug Misuse & Trafficking Act 1985 ("DMTA"). The maximum penalty prescribed is life imprisonment and/or a fine of 5000 penalty units. There is a standard non-parole period applicable of 15 years imprisonment. Count 2 – knowingly direct activities of criminal group. This is an offence pursuant to s 93T(4A) of the Crimes Act 1900. The maximum penalty prescribed is 15 years imprisonment. There is no standard non-parole period. 1. The offending occurred between 9 November 2015 and 2 December 2015. The offender was arrested on 1 December 2015 and has therefore been in custody on remand for over five and a half years. The delay in sentencing occurred as a result of the following procedural history. Following investigation and the entry of pleas of not guilty, the matter was listed for trial on 23 April 2018. The offender entered guilty pleas on 26 April 2018 and the matter was set down for sentence hearing later that year. On 23 November 2018, the offender indicated that he wanted to traverse his plea and his then legal representatives sought leave to withdraw. After a number of adjournments, the traversal application came before Flannery SC DCJ in November 2020 and the hearing was completed on 26 March 2021. By judgment delivered on 23 April 2021, the offender's traversal application was refused. 2. Six co-offenders have previously been sentenced with respect to the drug supply enterprise. Kam Fee Seong was sentenced by Herbert DCJ on 24 November 2017; Jin Yoke Yee Hoh was sentenced in the Magistrate's Court on 10 May 2017; Chin Hung Ho was sentenced by Madgwick ADCJ on 9 February 2018; Bunny Bannister, Chee Hui Tiew and Chun Keat Chong were sentenced by me on 1 March 2019. The principle of parity therefore looms large in the sentencing process.