R v Phuong PHAM [2009] NSWDC 362

New South Wales District Court

CITATION: R v Phuong PHAM [2009] NSWDC 362

HEARING DATE(S): 10 December 2009 EX TEMPORE JUDGMENT DATE : 10 December 2009

JURISDICTION: District Court Criminal

JUDGMENT OF: Berman SC DCJ

DECISION: The offender is sentenced to imprisonment. I set a non-parole period of seven years to date from 19 May 2008 and I set a head sentence of eleven years. This means that the offender will be eligible to be released to parole on 18 May 2015.

CATCHWORDS: CRIMINAL LAW - Sentence - Schedule under s 16BA - Border controlled drug - Cocaine - Commercial quantity - Attempting to possess a commercial quantity of methylamphetamine - Serving sentence in a foreign country

LEGISLATION CITED: Crimes Act 1914 (Cth)

PARTIES: The Crown Phuong Thu Thi PHAM

FILE NUMBER(S): DC 09/11/0062

COUNSEL: Mr L Crowley Ms C Nash - Offender

SOLICITORS: Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) Ford Criminal Lawyers - Offender

JUDGMENT

1 HIS HONOUR: Phuong Thu Thi Pham pleaded guilty on the day of her trial to an offence that on 19 May 2008 at Sydney she attempted to possess a substance which had been unlawfully imported, that substance being a border controlled drug, namely cocaine, the quantity being a commercial quantity. She asked that when I sentence her for that matter I take into account an offence on a schedule under s 16BA of the Commonwealth Crimes Act, that offence being attempting to possess a commercial quantity of methylamphetamine, that offence being committed on the same day.

2 Those matters arose in the following circumstances. The offender's cousin Hai Van Nguyen was a resident of Australia. In late September 2007 he set up a company purportedly for the purpose supplying beauty products. He thus leased a warehouse and registered business names. Arrangements were then made for the transport to Australia of products described as foot spas. These were sent by ship, that ship arriving on 2 May 2008.