Director of Public Prosecutions v Xiao Xuan Xu & Anor [2010] NSWSC 842

Reported Decision : 202 A Crim R 279

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Director of Public Prosecutions v Xiao Xuan Xu & Anor [2010] NSWSC 842

HEARING DATE(S) : 29 June 2010, 30 June 2010, 1 July 2010

JUDGMENT DATE : 30 July 2010

JURISDICTION : Common Law

JUDGMENT OF : Garling J

DECISION : Commonwealth DPP's application for forfeiture of property is dismissed. The CDPP is to pay the defendants' costs.

CATCHWORDS : CRIMINAL ASSETS – Commonwealth legislation – Confiscation of criminal proceeds – Application for forfeiture of property – First defendant imprisoned in China for Chinese offence of smuggling common goods – Second defendant is the presently registered proprietor of the relevant property in Australia – Whether sufficient evidence to establish that the property is proceeds of crime – Whether sufficient evidence that the proved conduct in China would, if it had occurred in Australia, have constituted an indictable offence – Application for forfeiture dismissed.

The Constitution Corporations Law Corporations Act 1989 Crimes Act 1900 LEGISLATION CITED : Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) Evidence Act 1995 Foreign Evidence Act 2004 (Cth) Proceeds of Crime Act 1987 (Cth) Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth) Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 Part 11 r 11.4

CATEGORY : Principal judgment

Briginshaw v Briginshaw (1938) 60 CLR 336 Burton v Honan (1952) 86 CLR 169 Corporate Affairs Commission v Papoulias (1989) 20 NSWLR 503 Habib v Nationwide News Pty Ltd [2010] NSWCA 34 Ho & Szeto v The Queen (1989) 39 A Crim R 145 CASES CITED : Jones v Dunkel (1959) 101 CLR 298 Lee v Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) [2009] NSWCA 347 Lee v Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) [2009] NSWCA 347 Neat Holdings Pty Ltd v Karajan Holdings Pty Ltd (1992) 110 ALR 449 NSW Crime Commission v Kelaita [2008] NSWCA 284 Studman v Director of Prosecutions (Cth) [2007] NSWCA 285 The Queen v Byrnes (1995) 183 CLR 501