DPP v Akber [2025] VCC 1962

1. The facts relevant to the offending are contained in the summary of prosecution opening (SPO) filed on 25 September 2025.[4] The facts I am about to recite are accepted as agreed facts upon which I am to sentence you.

1. You were born in March 1965 and were about 60 years of age at the time of the offending.
2. The victim in this matter, Louis Tin, was born in August 1997 and was 26 years of age at the time of offending.

1. On Saturday, 3 August 2024, Mr Tin started his shift at Woolworths in Box Hill, at 1:45 pm.
2. He observed a 40-50-year-old male (you) entering the store wearing a

two-tone puffer jacket which was partly grey, and partly white. 3. Another staff member, Mr Nick Panagiotopoulos, was asked by you whether he 'had any big coins'. 4. When he said he did not have any, you did not say anything and looked at Mr Panagiotopoulos for a few seconds. 5. Mr Panagiotopoulos directed you to Mr Tin. You asked Mr Tin where you could get a disposable spoon. You also asked for a brown paper bag. 6. Mr Tin gave you a brown paper bag and advised that disposable spoons were located in aisle 8. You then walked off. 7. You returned to Mr Tin and asked 'can I have the cash?'. Mr Tin did not respond because he was not sure what you were asking and did not know what to do. Mr Tin, in his words, 'just tried to remain calm'. 8. Mr Tin recalled it looked like you were going to make a payment. This made Mr Tin look in the brown paper bag that you had been given when he was first spoken to. 9. You then said, 'I have a knife inside'. Mr Tin described the knife as being about 20 centimetres in length. You were holding the knife handle and 'the main part of the knife was covered by paper towel'. He could see the tip of the knife. 10. You repeatedly said 'give me the cash', three times. 11. Mr Tin did not respond or say a word. He stepped back to create distance. Mr Panagiotopoulos described your demeanour towards Mr Tin as 'agro' and stated it, 'looked like [Mr Tin] was trying to calm [you] down'. 12. You then moved to the entrance of the service desk and exited Woolworths towards the main street of the Box Hill shops. 13. Mr Tin thought that you spoke clearly and did not believe that you were impaired. Mr Panagiotopoulos, however, thought that you did not look 'normal' and thought that you were 'on something'. 14. Cameron Billingham, the Store Manager, was approached by Tin at about 4:40 pm who said, 'Cam, Cam', to get his attention. 15. Mr Tin pointed to you and Mr Billingham observed that you had left through the service entrance which was 'only meant for people to enter the store'. 16. Mr Tin told Mr Billingham that you had wanted money and had a knife. Mr Tin assured Mr Billingham that he was okay. 17. Billingham told Tin that he would speak to security. He then walked next door to BWS to make sure that you had not entered the store. Mr Billingham then reported the matter to police and subsequently gave them the CCTV footage. 18. On review of the footage, Billingham observed that you had taken an item from the shelf. On checking the aisle, Mr Billingham located packaging for a Wiltshire angled palette knife valued at $8. 19. First Constable Chappell observed you remove the packaging with your teeth on the CCTV footage.

1. Detective Sergeant Trusler arrived at Woolworths, Box Hill, at 5:40 pm where she was briefed by Chappell and Atkins.
2. Police reviewed the CCTV footage from Box Hill to trace you having left towards the bus stop exit. Atkins distributed photographs of you to the local Protective Service Officers.
3. Detective Leading Senior Constable Stuart Nicol liaised with Billingham and took a series of photographs from the aisle.
4. On 6 August 2024, Detective Leading Senior Constable Kirwan was looking at an internal police network which depicted an image of a male wanted for an attempted armed robbery at Woolworths on 3 August 2024. Kirwan recognised you from recent contact and noticed that you had even been wearing the same clothing.
5. On 7 August 2025, Detective Leading Senior Constable Hales was notified that you had been identified as a suspect in the Woolworths Box Hill offending on 3 August.
6. Police attended your premises and upon arrival, you were arrested. They located the Nike two-tone jacket that matched the appearance of the jacket worn by the male depicted on the Woolworths Box Hill CCTV.
7. You said to Hales that you used to work for ASIO and the US Marines. You also said that you spoke six languages.
8. Volunteering such unusual comments meant that when you interviewed by Hales and Ingram they did so in the presence of an Independent Third Party. I consider the answers that you give in the Record of Interview (ROI) in that context.

1. During the interview, you stated amongst other things:

(a) No knife (Q99);

(b) Spatula, spatula (Q101);

(c) You didn't mention I left spatula in bag with him (Q113);

(d) You didn't mention this so the statement is all a lie (Q114);

(e) He's got no credit (Q115);

(f) You can see the spatula when I was holding it (Q116); and

(g) You could see the spatula. He didn't mention. He keeps saying knife and 20 centimetre. It's all bloody wrong, false, false and misleading (Q117).

1. There has been no Victim Impact Statement filed. I can still readily infer this was a frightening experience for your victim.

1. The matter has proceeded through the criminal justice system in the way set out in the chart below, though I will deal with other matters relating to your forensic history elsewhere; including sentences served in this period to be considered.

Matter adjourned for further resolution discussions.

Plea of guilty to one count of attempted armed robbery.

1. This is a lower-level example of attempted armed robbery.
2. While the offending was rather brazenly perpetrated during the day in a busy shopping centre, it was brief in duration, and you did not disguise yourself.
3. It was relatively discreet in that other customers were not affected.
4. The weapon used was a palette knife taken from a shelf within the supermarket just before the offending. You obviously put some thought into partially concealing that pallet knife in a manner likely to induce fear and produce compliance in your victim, the offending was not sophisticated, or professional - and minimal loss was occasioned.
5. A pallet knife self-evidently does not carry the same risk of death or serious injury as a kitchen or a combat knife, the scenario was still capable of instilling fear in, and occasioning emotional harm to Mr Tin, and as I said, I am readily able to infer it would have been distressed as a result of your veiled threat and the presence of a partially concealed weapon. He was a soft target; a stranger to you simply working in the supermarket and obviously unarmed.
6. Importantly, the offence remained an attempt. What I mean by that is upon the victim stepping back, you desisted and exited the premises, rather than escalating the matter by use of more threats or the use of actual violence.

1. You are 62 years old. You were born in Pakistan. You are an Australian Citizen
2. You are a poor historian at times and provided many and varied accounts of key life events; not out of malice or by way of manipulation as far as I can discern, but simply as a result of the distorting influence of your very poor mental health [6]
3. You have a personal history of trauma and disadvantage. You came from a large family.
4. Your childhood was marked by family violence. Your father was physically abusive towards the family as a whole. You were subjected to repeated and sustained sexual abuse by multiple teachers at school. Sexual matters appear to occupy a great deal of your thoughts and may explain why you so very frequently resort to disinhibited or sexualised responses to mundane questions during consultations with corrections officers, psychiatrists or police officers for that matter.
5. You have made other claims of astonishing violence and depravity in your family that is very difficult to verify.
6. You were with your wife for 28 years, who left you in 2016 because of your gambling. She is the mother of your three children, who you say you saw very little of, due to your work commitments.
7. It is unclear to me just how much contact you still have with your family members (I am told you lost contact with most of them in Pakistan since the age of 12), but given the IVO's in the past with some of them, and your recent history of frequent and lengthy imprisonment, I am uncomfortable making any findings about what protective factors they represent, if any. You seem to me to be quite isolated at present.
8. I understand that a sister died in a motor vehicle accident in Pakistan in July of last year, which caused a further deterioration in your mental health

1. You immigrated to this country, as I said, in 1989.

1. After arriving here, you maintained a lengthy and solid employment history, including 20 years as a technician at Optus. From 2003-2013 you worked for Securecorp.
2. You had to cease full time work in 2013. Your mental health began to deteriorate, and I have been told that you became addicted to gambling. This precipitated the end of your marriage and you separated from your wife in 2016. You then entered a deep depression and suffered severe anxiety. You lost contact with many of your close friends, and you still have problems with gambling. You have accrued debts with members of your community and have ceased working. You receive unemployment benefits.

1. You admit to drinking, which increased in your 30s and 40s, and later cocaine use after you separated from your wife. It seems you are aware that your mental health (and life) unravel when you use substances, although that is not what is said to have happened on this occasion.

1. In 2013 you experienced significant mental and physical health issues.
2. You have had three community admissions to mental health services between 2014 and 2019.
3. You have had three custodial admissions between 2022 and 2024 - meaning that you were so unwell that you were required to be admitted to Thomas Embling Hospital.
4. You have attracted diagnoses of bipolar affective disorder, schizophrenia, mental and behavioural disorders due to the harmful use of multiple psychoactive drugs, borderline personality disorder, depressive episodes, general anxiety, adjustment disorder, and acute stress reaction.[7]
5. Dr Rachael Watson provided a report of real assistance in this case.[8] She opined that you suffer from Bipolar I Disorder, a lifelong condition characterised by extreme fluctuations between periods of severe depression and mania - the latter of which can last for days.
6. During manic episodes, Dr Watson observed you experience an elevated mood state associated with grandiosity, significant disinhibition, unpredictability, irritability, and aggression.[9]
7. With that in mind, she said:

There appears to be a direct relationship between Mr Akber's bipolar disorder symptoms and his offending. It appears he was significantly disinhibited during a manic episode, and likely acting on impulse. During a manic episode someone is more likely to engage in risky activities that have a high potential for negative consequences, without considering those consequences or moderating their behaviour. This is often a core feature of the disorder. Mr Akber explained he could not think five minutes in advance what was going to happen. He said he was 'like a 2 to 3 year old baby' and would be 'stubborn', and he would also want to be the centre of attention. He told me that he wanted money for use at brothels and for gambling, which were both behaviours that he would engage in when experiencing mania. > > There did not appear to be any delusional thought processes directing the behaviour (i.e. he knew the nature of the behaviour he was engaging in), besides the grandiosity centring and elevating himself, his own importance, and his own immediate needs.[10]

8. I had you assessed, as I said, for a CCO. The CCO assessor confirmed that for three to four weeks before the index offending you went unmedicated which resulted in you being unable to understand behaviours referring to 'the difference between right and wrong'. You report at the time of the offending, you ceased taking Prestiq and Olanzapine for Anxiety and Major Depressive Disorder.
9. Your assessor also noted this, typical of your presentation and the challenges you face:

Mr Akber reported to have a 20 percent share in a Tobacco importing and exporting business in Dubai with his uncle owning the other 80 percent shares. He was asked about his involvement in the business and stated he was involved in the marketing and sales of tobacco stating that he sold cigarettes to various counties in Europe and Asia. Mr Akber reported working remotely and denied his payments from the business impacting on his pension. He spoke in a grandiose nature about speaking seven languages naming German, Turkish, Indian, Pastu/Farsi/Dari, English, Arabic and Pakistani and this assisting his capacity in sales in foreign countries. Despite Mr Akber indicating he was receiving profit shares from the business, he is unable to financially support himself in the community. He referred to the lead up to his offending having no to limited funds with impacting his housing situation and inability to secure a phone.

10. I am troubled that before this offending you were not the subject of any meaningful supervisory order and not linked into any mental health service.
11. You were placed on a Community Treatment Order (CTO) in November 2024, which was due to expire in May.
12. Your medication regime at the time of the CTO was: Lithium twice daily, Olanzapine twice daily, Paliperidone 3 milligrams and Quetiapine 100 milligrams modified release twice daily. These are medications that are not prescribed lightly. They speak of serious mental health issues. You must understand that you need to take these medications if they are prescribed to you.

1. Your first criminal matter occurred way back in 1994 when you were placed on a bond for soliciting a prostitute.
2. Then some 28 years passed before your next appearance. It is only then that your offending truly escalates, and your criminal history becomes complex to recount.
3. You yourself give inconsistent accounts of what happened in these matters, which I again stress is not to be taken as impression management, but rather the confabulation that accompanies your profoundly poor mental health.
4. In June of 2022, you were placed on a bond for contravene family violence intervention order, commit offence on bail, attempted theft, and possess drug.
5. On 7 March of 2023, you were dealt with in this Court for charges of burglary and committing offence on bail (x2). Those offences occurred in 2022, where you stole approximately $100,000 worth of mobile phones and onsold them to fund gambling and visits to brothels. At the time of that offending you were on bail for charges of contravene a family violence intervention order.
6. You were placed on a two-year CCO, which required you to perform 100 hours of community work, undergo treatment (especially it seems for gambling) and with the community work hours all being credited against the unpaid community work conditions.[11]
7. It appears that you were not released on 7 March 2023. Instead, you remained in remand awaiting further sentence for other matters at Melbourne on 16 June 2023. The County Court CCO was suspended for the time until your release.
8. On 16 June 2023 you were sentenced to a second CCO, this time for a period of two years for charges of breach family violence intervention order, assault, and criminal damage (intent damage/ destroy) committed in May and April 2022.
9. For related sexual offending (directing sexual activity of a child x2, sexual activity in the presence of a child x2, commit offence on bail) you were convicted and sentenced to an total effective term of 200 days with 354 days reckoned as having already been served. You were placed on the Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004 (Vic) (SORA) and sentenced to report to Victoria Police for life.
10. At that time, you were assessed by way of an Extended Pre-Sentence Assessment (EPA). You were deemed suitable then as you were yet to actually commence a CCO. Your mental health decline was reported in the lead up to this offending episode and you reported that you ceased medication without the supervision of treating professionals. You then presented as remorseful and willing to engage in treatment pathways as per a CCO.
11. You thus commenced both CCOs on 16 June 2023 following your release from prison. You had served 300 days. There was regrettably no real opportunity for you to engage in any pre-release or transitional meetings. Both of these Orders represents your first contact with Community Corrections and ran concurrently. Through the assurance of Ms Tiv today, that lack of forewarning for Corrections will not happen again.
12. Despite your reported motivation during the EPA process you absconded from the outset and because of this, did not and never engaged or participated beyond the initial induction. You needed help with crisis accommodation; you were unable to provide a contact number other than your GP. You failed to attend after the induction. You left emergency accommodation and were not able to be reached either through the Salvation Army or through your GP.
13. It seems, remarkably, that you left Australia on 23 June 2023 to Pakistan, purportedly because of a death in your family. It is hard to conceive that you could leave the country again in breach of an order in the way that you did.
14. Your Order was placed into contravention and a Charge and Warrant was issued for your arrest.
15. On 29 December 2023 you returned to Australia and were arrested and remanded.
16. You were dealt with for the breaches of CCOs in the following way.
17. First, you were dealt with at the Dandenong Magistrates' Court on 5 April 2024 for the breach of CCO. That order was cancelled, and no further Orders were made. For the Victoria Police charges listed on the same date of theft, make false report to Police, and fail to abide by certain SORA conditions, you received a 60-day term of imprisonment.
18. You then remained on remand for the contravention of your County Court CCO; that is to say, the one imposed by Judge Kelly.
19. On 12 April 2024, you appeared at the Melbourne County Court and the contravention was proven, the original Order was cancelled, and you were resentenced to the original charges to 260 days' imprisonment, reckoned as served.
20. You were released, it seems, having never actually undergone any treatment of any kind.
21. You were living at a friend's house, and unmedicated, drinking and grieving because of the loss of your sister. Put simply you were highly unstable and apparently left to your own devices in the community. You would spend whatever money you had on gambling, or drink or brothels, or both, rather than medication - such is your impulsivity and compromised thinking.
22. This offending occurred on 2 August 2024. You were remanded on 7 August 2024 and bailed on 17 October 2024 for a period of time as your bail was revoked by consent on 6 January 2025. You then served other sentences imposed by the Magistrates' Court. You have remained in custody continually since February this year. Your PSD in relation to this matter is 232 days.

1. This is not your first time in custody. During your first period of remand on this matter, you were admitted to Monash Health as an inpatient, such was the poor state of your mental health. Since being returned to prison, you have been involved in various incidents, usually abusive or offensive in nature.

1. By way of present circumstances, you are presently remanded at Ravenhall. This is where you were assessed for a CCO and it is convenient for me to summarise that process now.
2. You were extremely difficult to assess. The assessment took place over two sessions (the first with Ms Tiv, the second one with Mr Bain also present). You were grandiose in presentation and were either tangential or hyper sexualised in responses to many routine questions that make it difficult to know at times what to make of your responses
3. When looking at your overall risk profile, it was noted that you had been the subject of a family violence order, which is no longer in place.
4. You are also the subject of SORA obligations, for reasons concerned with strong sexualised behaviour amounting to previous criminal offences.
5. You present as high or very high risk in seven of the eight criteria used to assess the same. Overall, you present a medium risk of reoffending according to corrections, and I add, a moderate to high risk of future violence (which could only increase if released while manic or without mental health input and oversight).[12]
6. You admit a drug and alcohol history, although it is not clear how extensive or recent that really is, given your contradictory answers and your tendency to exaggerate and embellish.
7. You present as someone who has experienced decline in their mental health. You have limited insight into your illness and are unfiltered and undeterrable from giving highly detailed sexualised responses to questions that do not relate to sex or sexuality in any way. Your behaviour towards women in particular means I expect that you will need to be almost exclusively treated and monitored by male officers.
8. Mr Farrugia puts it this way in his further submissions[13]

To protect the wellbeing, safety, and dignity of Corrections staff, it is suggested that the Court, the Prosecutor, and Counsel for Mr Akber clarify with Corrections the extent to which Mr Akber's sexualised behaviour decreases when interacting with male members of staff.

9. This was canvassed today with Ms Tiv who proposes to put in place protocols and processes recommending that this be done.
10. You will need assistance for crisis accommodation for somewhere to live. Previous arrangements appear to be unable to be revisited.
11. Daniel Riley, Forensic Case Worker from Restart ACSO in their support letter of 29 September 2025[14] outlined that you have self-referred on a voluntary basis to their service to receive transitional supports in areas of housing, independent living skills, education, alcohol and drugs and mental health supports. You would be eligible on a voluntary basis to be linked in with their service for a three-month period post release.
12. I note that Mr Riley provided an updated letter just prior to the plea on 15 December 2025[15] confirming ReStart have been working with you whilst you have been on remand. You have identified transitional support domains as housing, independent living skills, education, alcohol and drugs, and mental health. Once released, ReStart will support you with assertive outreach within those domains for up to three months. Sadly that means only crisis accommodation for the first three nights - reportedly in the Dandenong area. You are on the waiting list for public housing.
13. Your mental health presents challenges too, obviously.
14. You were not linked with any Area Mental Health Services. Your last contact recorded was on 20 November 2024 upon discharge from the inpatient unit when you were returned to custody.
15. You previously report contact with a psychiatrist at Skye Medical, whom you visit on a three-monthly basis. You reported being linked in with Langhorne Medical Centre and have been a patient of Doctor Ubdul for approximately 15 years. Sadly, you then began emphasising to the assessor on the nationalities of treatment professionals and became fixated and sexualised in your responses. All conversations then ceased in relation to mental health and past treatment, and an alternative topic was then explored in the appointment due to the repeated unsuccessful attempts to stop tangential thoughts.

1. Offences of this kind are considered serious. The maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment is an indication of how Parliament considers offences against the person like this.
2. Community protection and deterrence are paramount sentencing purposes here. Your conduct falls to be denounced. It was rightly conceded that a term of imprisonment is warranted in these circumstances.
3. Mr Farrugia made reference to current sentencing practices firstly by reference to statistical data.
4. Between 1 July 2018 and 30 June 2023, 292 charges of attempted armed robbery were sentenced with a term of imprisonment resulting in 72 per cent of cases (or 211 charges).[16] In 166 cases, attempted armed robbery was the principal offence with a combination sentence being the most common disposition imposed (38 per cent of the cases).[17]
5. The prosecutor then took me to Shrubshall v The King,[18] by way of a comparative example, where a young offender, without prior convictions who offended in similar circumstances and had limited pre-sentence detention, pleaded guilty early and was given a four month sentence with an 18-month CCO to follow. He pleaded guilty during the pandemic and could draw on Verdins Limbs 5 and 6. That sentence was described as moderate, if not lenient, by the Court of Appeal.

1. Your plea of guilty comes not at a particularly early stage. The victim was cross-examined at committal.
2. Nonetheless, it is mitigating as:

(a) It is inherently demonstrative of remorse;

(b) It has engendered a utilitarian benefit as it has obviated the need for a trial;

(c) It demonstrates your willingness to facilitate the course of justice; and

(d) demonstrates that you accept responsibility for the offending.

1. In Reid (a Pseudonym) v The Queen,[19] the Court of Appeal observed:

In my opinion, there is a powerful public interest in giving recognition to a plea even in the face of a very strong prosecution case. Charged individuals faced with the choice of either pleading guilty or electing to contest a trial need to know that a plea of guilty will find real, discernible and palpable recognition in the sentence that is passed. Whether it is described as a 'discount' or by some other epithet, an offender who pleads guilty almost without exception should be given credit for doing so, and that being reflected in a significant amelioration of the sentence.[20]

2. The issue of remorse is slightly more vexed. You denied much of the offending to Police and accused Mr Tin of being a liar, with little or no credibility. As Mr Farrugia points out, you appeared to be more concerned with the nature of the weapon as opposed to the impact on Mr Tin who had given a 'bloody wrong, false' and 'misleading' account, according to you.
3. A surface-level analysis suggests you expressed limited remorse and insight into the offending, but I agree with both Mr Farrugia and Mr Howard in this regard. You offended and were interviewed in a heightened psychological state, and I do need to view your answers in that context.
4. Your comments to the CCO assessor are somewhat clearer headed and accepting, although you still lack real insight.
5. In Dr Watson's words:

Mr Akber displayed current manic symptoms, and this would likely impact his capacity to reflect on his behaviours and the potential harm caused to others. It is not uncommon for people with major mental illnesses to have limitations with insight around their illnesses or behaviours. He did not see his behaviour as threatening, because he did not make a direct verbal threat to the victim(s).

1. It is submitted that you were suffering a 'mental disorder or abnormality' or 'impaired mental functioning' at the time that these offences were committed which falls within the scope of the wide variety of impaired mental functions or conditions as contemplated in R v Verdins.[21]
2. In Verdins, the Court of Appeal said impaired mental functioning, whether temporary or permanent ('the condition or impairment'), is relevant to sentencing, and outlined the six ways that it could be used.
3. It is submitted here that Verdins limbs 1-4 inclusive are enlivened.
4. It is accepted that full weight cannot be given to those principles as you failed to take your prescription medication approximately two to three weeks before the offending.
5. But having said that, there is still obviously work for Verdins to do in the instinctive synthesis. There is clearly a direct relationship between your bipolar disorder and the offending. You were simply manic.
6. The Crown acknowledged that as recently as 2023 before Judge Kelly the prosecution conceded that your mental health presentation attracted the operation of Verdins and the Court there applied limbs 1 to 4. And so it is here.

1. In Bugmy v The Queen[22], the High Court held that the effects of profound childhood deprivation, particularly exposure to violence, do not diminish over time and may bear significantly on an offender's moral culpability. The Court held that such experiences may inform both the offender's moral culpability and the likelihood of their reform.[23]
2. Your deeply troubling childhood was taken into account in the same way in your previous sentence before Judge Kelly (with the Crown acknowledging its application).
3. The Crown concedes now, as it did before Judge Kelly, the application of Bugmy.

1. It is true the community is protected in the short term by your confinement, but that protection will be short lived, if you are released without structure and supervision. The prospect of you being returned to the community without any supervision is simply not conducive to the safety of the community, or your rehabilitation. Rehabilitation, if it can be achieved, is the most enduring form of community protection.
2. It is intended that with the benefit of a known, certain release date (being today) and an impressive array of services available for you upon your release, there is proper scaffolding and support for you upon your release which will operate as a protective measure.

1. The Prosecution submit that specific deterrence is clearly relevant given your somewhat relevant and recent prior history. You have been given rehabilitative sentences in the past and continued to offend.
2. Your prospects for rehabilitation are submitted to be 'guarded' to 'poor' and are contingent on the efficacy of mental health treatment.

1. Having served seven months in custody, you have experienced a great deal of punishment.
2. It is submitted that in the unique circumstances of this case - involving as they do an unsophisticated and quickly abandoned attempt - the sentencing purposes can be met by a short term of imprisonment. Such a sentence would be proportionate to the objective gravity of the offending.

1. I am aware of the need, and am mindful of the significance in this case, of the application of the principle of totality that requires me when sentencing you to ensure that the term I impose is just and an appropriate measure of the total criminality involved.
2. This needs to accommodate the interaction between this sentence and other sentences (in the region of 180 days and 126 days that you have served recently).
3. I must, as best I can, determine what sentence you would have received had all offending been dealt with at the same time.

1. It was submitted by both parties that a combination sentence is appropriate.
2. The CCO assessor stated:

Mr Akber is a 62-year-old male with a criminal history dated back to 1994; he has a period of desistence between 1994 to 2022 when he had no Court appearances. Since 2022 he has been before the Court for violent, family violence and sexual related offending. In 2023 he was sentenced to a County Court CCO and State CCO which commenced following a period of Imprisonment. > > Despite during the Extended Presentence Assessment process indicating motivations to comply with an Order and receive assistance in the community to address his mental health and re-engage with his children. He ultimately reported in on one occasion for these CCO's and absconded from the Order. > > During the current interviewing process, Mr Akber engaged in an overfamiliar manner with the writer and despite being assessed for violent related offending he continued to sexualise his responses to basic assessment questions and gave varying accounts of information pertaining to his family, drug and alcohol use and personal history. Due to the various accounts provided, this service is unable to verify his self- reports. > > Due to Mr Akber's varying accounts of information pertaining to his personal circumstances and needs in the community, there are concerns regarding this service ability to manage his risk in the community. > > Mr Akber outlined that his offending occurs in the context in which his mental health begun declining in the lead up to his offending behaviour where he ceased taking his prescribed medication after finding out his family had been involved in a car accident in Pakistan. Following this, he commenced engaging in gambling and with sex workers. Mr Akber demonstrated limited remorse for his offending behaviour before the Court, during his offence account he denied his actions being threatening in nature and that he was acutely unwell at the time. Mr Akber has presented from a similar standpoint for previous CCO's that he has been assessed for, that his mental health declined impacted his offending behaviours. > > Mr Akber has previously absconded from CCS on past Order and presents to the Court with similar circumstances as previous in which he will be transient with crisis accommodation support via ACSO reconnect post release. Mr Akber reported to have share in an overseas business however indicated that he had limited funds to support himself in the community post release and would be relying upon the transitional supports of ACSO. Mr Akber was also of the view he may be able to return to his previous accommodation in Clayton South; however Box Hill SOCIT have informed that he was evicted from the premise due to an incident with his previous landlord and may be unable to return. > > Taking this into consideration, Mr Akber has been deemed as unsuitable candidate for a Community Correction Order.

3. I did have the benefit of discussing the matter with the author of that report at Court today, including the conditions. In a most thoughtful way, what was posited was the following:

(a) You be supervised;

(b) You undergo treatment for drugs and alcohol;

(c) You undergo treatment for gambling addiction;

(d) You be judicially monitored; and

(e) You undergo any treatment specific courses that corrections deem necessary.

1. Both parties wholeheartedly concurred with these recommendations.
2. You have in reality only ever been placed on one CCO, without a transition process, which fell apart almost instantly.
3. You will of course have to be released from custody. You have already done approximately seven months. There is no question that given what I have been at pains to make clear in these remarks, you will require assistance if you are to live in the community. A straight sentence simply does not provide for that and I do not consider the gravity of this offending enough to warrant a term of imprisonment that involves a head sentence and a non-parole period. The Crown have never contended that that latter penalty was appropriate in any event.
4. A combination sentence therefore emerges as the only penalty that satisfies all sentencing objectives.
5. Mr Howard concedes the following but makes the point well:[24]

It is accepted that Mr Akber would likely experience difficulty in complying with a CCO. And true it is that Mr Akber presents with multifaceted, interrelated, complex and challenging needs both in the areas of mental health and addiction. Be that as it may, Mr Akber is help-seeking, and in order to effect his rehabilitation, and in turn promote public protection, he requires supervision in the community.

6. Having balanced and weighed the necessary considerations, in my view the combination of your plea of guilty and of time spent in custody makes the imposition of a combination sentence proper.
7. The combination of a term of imprisonment and a CCO provides a more flexible sentencing option, enabling both punishment and rehabilitation purposes to be served together.[25]
8. It appears to me that I can denounce your conduct, punish you, deter you and others, and foster conditions that might assist in your reform by imposing a combination sentence that comprises of the term of imprisonment first, then followed by a CCO with conditions. The CCO I impose will require your ongoing commitment. It is tailored to your needs, and it is restrictive in its operation. In many ways, Mr Akber, your life will not be your own for the duration of the order.

1. Provided you consent, what I intend to do is to sentence you to six months' imprisonment (noting that you have served 232 days), followed by a 14-month CCO with conviction.
2. Every community corrections order, including this one, has core conditions and they are as follows:

(a) You are not to commit another offence punishable by imprisonment.

(b) You must comply with any order or obligation or requirement prescribed by the regulations.

(c) You must report to, or receive visits from, the Secretary during the period of the order.

(d) You must report to Dandenong Community Correctional Services within two working days of the commencement of this order.

(e) You must notify the Secretary of any change of address or employment within two working days after that change.

(f) You must not leave the state of Victoria, except with permission from the Secretary.

(g) You must comply with any direction given by the Secretary that is necessary for them to give, to ensure that you comply.

1. In addition to those core conditions, the special conditions I impose are as follows:

(a) You be the subject of supervision.

(b) You undergo mental health assessment and treatment as directed.

(c) You undergo assessment and treatment for gambling addiction as directed.

(d) You undergo any programmes designed to reduce the risk of reoffending.

(e) I will order judicial monitoring, with the first return date being 23 January 2026 at 9.30 am.

1. I can only make such an order if you consent to it being made. Do you consent to it being made?
2. OFFENDER: Yes, Your Honour.
3. The offence itself of breaching a community corrections order carries a maximum of three months' imprisonment. If you were to breach this order, you would come back to court, you would be sentenced for that breach offence, and I would need to resentence you for these offences. I suggest that that does not happen.

1. By way of ancillary orders, I declare 232 days pre-sentence detention as having already been reckoned as served. For the sake of clarity, it is my intention that you be released today to commence a CCO.

1. But for your plea of guilty, I would have sentenced you to two years with a non‑parole period of 14 months.

1. I order the forefeiture of the items of the knife and the cable ties, as requested.

[1] Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) ss 75, 321M.

[2] Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) s44.

[3] Exhibit 4; Extended Pre-sentence Report dated 4 December 2025.

[4] Exhibit A; Summary of Prosecution Opening for Plea dated 24 September 2025.

[5] Arrived at as you had served sentences in the interim on 21 May 2025 and 25 June 2025.

[6] Exhibit 2: Report of Dr Watson at [7].

[7] Exhibit 2; Report of Dr Watson dated 30 September 2025.

[11] See reasons for sentence of Judge Kelly. DPP v Akber [2023] VCC 353.

[12] Exhibit 2; Report of Dr Watson [72].

[13] Exhibit D; Submissions on Sentence dated 17 December 2025.

[14] Exhibit 3; Letter from Daniel Riley (Case Manager from ACSO) dated 29 September 2025.

[15] Exhibit 5; Letter from Daniel Riley dated 15 December 2025. Ms Franzin appeared to assist me today for which I was most grateful.

[16] Sentencing Advisory Council https://www.sacstat.vic.gov.au/hc-vic/attempted-armed-robbery-6231- 321m-6-hc.html.

[18] Shrubshall v The King [2022] VSCA 221.

[19] [2014] VSCA 145; (2014) 42 VR 295.

[20] Ibid at 321 [111]. See also Carter (a Pseudonym) v The Queen [2018] VSCA 88, [75].

[21] [2007] VSCA 102; (2007) 16 VR 269.

[23] See also DPP v Herrmann [2021] VSCA 160 and Black v The Queen [2022] VSCA 125.

[24] Exhibit 6; Submissions on Sentence dated 17 December 2025.

[25] Boulton and others v The Queen (2014) VR 308.