R v Dang [2003] NSWCCA 338

New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal

CITATION : R v Dang [2003] NSWCCA 338 HEARING DATE(S) : 11 November 2003 JUDGMENT DATE : 20 November 2003

JUDGMENT OF : Barr J at 1; Miles AJ at 13 DECISION : Leave is granted to appeal against the sentence. The appeal is dismissed.

CATCHWORDS : Criminal law - sentencing - armed robbery CASES CITED : R v Henry [1999] NSWCCA 111 R v Thompson; R v Houlton [2000] NSWCCA 309 PARTIES : Regina Alan Andrew Dang FILE NUMBER(S) : CCA 60257/03 COUNSEL : Applicant: M Thangaraj Crown: E A Wilkins SOLICITORS : Applicant: D J Humphries Crown: S E O'Connor

LOWER COURT District Court JURISDICTION : LOWER COURT 02/11/0763 FILE NUMBER(S) : LOWER COURT Taylor DCJ JUDICIAL OFFICER :

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL 060257/03

BARR J MILES AJ Thursday, 20 November 2003 Alan Andrew DANG v R Judgment 1 BARR J: The appellant, Alan Andrew Dang, seeks leave to appeal against a sentence imposed in the District Court. He pleaded guilty in the Local Court to one count of robbery while armed with an offensive weapon. He was committed to the District Court for sentence and was there sentenced to imprisonment for four years and six months. A non-parole period of two years and six months was fixed. 2 At 4:15am on 22 January 2002 the applicant entered a convenience store in Haymarket, Sydney armed with a knife. At knifepoint he stole a quantity of cigarettes, phone-cards, a mobile telephone and the contents of the cash drawer totalling $350-odd. The person in charge of the store managed to telephone the police before the applicant left. As he ran away the person in charge and another employee followed him and hailed certain officers of the Royal Australian Naval Police, who were passing by. Security cameras operated by the Sydney City Council recorded the applicant running away from the scene, pursued by those officers. As he ran he dropped the bags containing the stolen property. Eventually he was cornered by his pursuers, still armed with the knife. Members of the New South Wales Police Service arrived. The applicant held them off with the knife. One of the officers drew a pistol and it was only then that the applicant dropped the knife. The officers tried to search him but he resisted them and kicked one of them. 3 After his arrest he co-operated with the police. He made full admissions in a recorded interview. He said that he had planned the robbery as he was walking around the district. He pleaded guilty in the Local Court. 4 The sentencing judge found that the applicant was born on 9 July 1982, so he was 20 years of age when sentenced. He had no previous convictions. He had started using heroin in high school and had become addicted to its use. He was under the influence of the drug at the time of this offence. Since his arrest he had tried, though unsuccessfully, to rid himself of his addiction. His Honour found him genuinely remorseful and concluded that his prospects of rehabilitation were good. Having mentioned all these favourable matters his Honour noted the early plea of guilty and said that he would discount the sentence by twenty-five percent. However, his Honour did not expressly limit that proportion to the utilitarian value of the plea. 5 There are two grounds of appeal, namely- 1. His Honour erred in his application of the guideline judgments of Henry (1999) 46 NSWLR 346 and Thompson and Houlton (2000) 49 NSWLR 383 by failing to discount adequately for the plea of guilty.