R v Kok Loong WONG [2012] NSWDC 182

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Kok Loong WONG [2012] NSWDC 182 Decision date: 18 May 2012 Before: Cogswell SC DCJ Decision: For offence of possessing commercial quantity of border controlled drug reasonably suspected of having been unlawfully imported - 18 years imprisonment. Fix non-parole period of 12 years. Form in accordance with s 16BA Crimes Act 1914 taken into account. Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW - Particular offence - drug offence - possessing commercial quantity of border controlled drug reasonably suspected of having been unlawfully imported - penalty: imprisonment for life - objectively serious offence - over 60 kilograms pure methamphetamine found - street value of over $38 million. Sentence - relevant factors - significance of the weight/amount of drugs a factor - premeditation - sophisticated organisation - offender integral member of enterprise - sole occupier of drug warehouse, responsible for communication and for large amounts of cash - personal deterrence - no criminal record in Australia but imprisonment only appropriate sentence - low/moderate risk of re-offending - general deterrence important - assistance to authorities - directed police to warehouse - of low value - 5 per cent discount - early plea of guilty - 20 per cent discount - non-parole period - foreign national serving time in Australian gaol taken into account. Legislation Cited: Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) s 307.8(1) Crimes Act 1914, s 16BA Cases Cited: Wong v R [2001] HCA 64; (2001) 207 CLR 584 R v Nguyen and R v Pham [2010] NSWCCA 238; (2010) 205 A Crim R 106 Category: Sentence Parties: Regina (Crown) Kok Loong WONG (Offender) Representation: Counsel: J Paingakulam (Crown) P R Boulten SC (Offender) Solicitor: Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) (Crown) Ms Shwan (Offender) File Number(s): DC 2010/422622