Regina v Amir Ibrahim El Mostafa [2007] NSWDC 220

Pending Appeal :

New South Wales District Court

CITATION: Regina v Amir Ibrahim El Mostafa [2007] NSWDC 220

HEARING DATE(S): 21/09/2007 (see case number 219 of 2007 for trial dates)

JUDGMENT DATE: 21 September 2007

JURISDICTION: District Court of New South Wales

JUDGMENT OF: Cogswell SC DCJ at 1

DECISION: Sentence correction for the offence of riot - Imprisonment for 5 years and 4 months with a non-parole period of 2 years and 8 months.

CATCHWORDS: Sentence correction - Incorrect maximum term for the offence of riot relied upon in original sentence - Riot

LEGISLATION CITED: s43 Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 s93B Crimes Act 1900

PARTIES: Regina Amir Ibrahim El Mostafa

FILE NUMBER(S): 06/11/0574

COUNSEL: Mr P Calvert for the ODPP Mr C Simpson for the offender

SOLICITORS: Ms S Flemming for the ODPP Ms T Duffy for the offender

JUDGMENT

1 When I sentenced Mr Amir El Mostafa on 24 August 2007 I was given some wrong information about the maximum sentence for one of the offences. This application by the Crown is to correct the sentence so that it is in accordance with the law. I sentenced Mr El Mostafa for four offences: an offence of riot contrary to s 93B of the Crimes Act 1900, two offences of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one offence of maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm.

2 The wrong information was this. I was told that the maximum penalty for riot was fifteen years. That in a sense is correct because the current penalty for that offence is indeed fifteen years. However, the riot committed by Mr El Mostafa occurred on 29 January 2005 and at that date the maximum sentence for riot was ten years. It was not until 15 December 2005, almost a year after the riot, that the maximum penalty was increased. There are no relevant changes to the maximum penalties for the other offences.