Parity in relation to Jules, Jacob and Keram
25 It will be remembered that Jules, Jacob and Keram all pleaded guilty in the Local Court after the Crown's brief of evidence had been delivered. The applicant did not plead guilty until shortly prior to the sentence hearing. However, his Honour accepted that the applicant had indicated his intention to plead guilty from the time that the matter was before the District Court and that there was little practical difference between the time that the applicant pleaded guilty and the time that the other offenders did so.
26 His Honour sentenced each on the basis that he was a courier. His Honour found however that there were some differences in the circumstances in which each had entered upon the criminal enterprise. He accepted that in the case of Jules, the approach to carry the drugs had only occurred in Singapore. Jules was otherwise there for the legitimate purpose of renewing his Indonesian visa. Jacob, for his part, had initially been approached in Indonesia but had only decided to take up the offer of taking drugs to Australia shortly before he went to Singapore, also for the purpose of renewing his visa. His Honour found, in relation to Keram, that there was little credible explanation as to his level of involvement, including the precise circumstances in which he agreed to participate in the importation. His Honour considered however that there was a likelihood of some prior planning. By contrast, his Honour found that there was a measure of planning and deliberation in the case of the applicant (see Remarks on Sentence p.90) for the reasons discussed at [14] above. Although the applicant challenges his Honour's findings in these respects, they were findings open to him on the evidence and in my opinion, were the only findings the Court could have made.
27 His Honour found that the personal circumstances of each of the four offenders with whom he dealt on 16 September 2004 were such that each was vulnerable to an offer of payment should they carry out the importation. Each was in difficult financial circumstances for a variety of reasons, and each was emotionally fragile, again for a variety of reasons, at the time. Again, in my opinion, it was open to his Honour to consider that the circumstances of each was roughly similar, notwithstanding the personal differences giving rise to the vulnerability of each.
28 His Honour considered that the prospects of re-offending in the case of each of the accused was minimal, and, it followed, that the prospects of rehabilitation were good.
29 His Honour was also satisfied on the evidence, and on this there could be no doubt, that each of the accused was aware that he was to bring into Australia a quantity of cocaine. It appears that each was to receive about the same payment per pellet for the importation.
30 None of the four offenders dealt with on 16 September 2004 had any relevant prior criminal history.
31 Each of the four offenders consented to the internal searches that led to the discovery of the drugs. This was so even though each had denied that he was carrying any drugs at the time. Once the drugs were detected, Jules, Jacob and Keram made statements to the police. The information they provided to the police varied one from the other, and later during the course of the court proceedings, including the sentencing hearing, they each had different versions again, as to what had happened. The differences are spelt out in his Honour's Remarks on Sentence. His Honour considered that by the time each had come to give evidence, they were endeavouring to minimise their own role and the roles of each other in the organisation of the importation.
32 His Honour found that Jules had given some limited co-operation to the authorities, as evidenced by his consent to being searched and that he also admitted his guilt. His Honour noted however that the assistance was limited by the different information given to the police as compared to that given earlier in the investigation. Likewise, his Honour found that Jacob had given some assistance to the police, including making admissions, in addition to consenting to being searched.
33 As I have already mentioned, his Honour was particularly dissatisfied with the evidence given by Keram. Apart from Keram's consent to being searched, his Honour found the different stories that he gave to the police, the probation officer and in Court were such that he was an unsatisfactory witness. It can be inferred from this that his Honour gave little weight to any assistance to the authorities.
34 The applicant however had not made any statements to the police and accordingly, apart from consenting to being searched, had not provided assistance to the authorities.
35 It will be apparent from the above that leaving aside the quantity of drugs imported, there was relatively little in the objective and subjective circumstances relating to each of the offenders that required any differentiation between them so far as sentencing was concerned. That being so, the question directly arises as to whether the different weight of narcotic that each brought in should play any role in the sentence that ought to have been imposed on each.
36 His Honour approached the matter in the way I have already outlined, namely, on the basis that each had brought in as much as he could secrete in his body. In the case of Jules, Jacob and Keram, the evidence was that each was given a quantity of 100 pellets. Jacob only managed to swallow 73. The applicant brought in 50 pellets.
37 That finding, that each had brought in as much as he could secrete in his body, is not correct in relation to the applicant. The only evidence in relation to his importation was that he brought in a quantity of 50 pellets. There was no evidence that he was supposed to, or could have, imported or was asked to import 100 pellets. In those circumstances, I am of the opinion that the weight of the drug imported by the applicant was a relevant consideration and should have been dealt with as such by his Honour. It follows on that reasoning that it was not, in the circumstances, sufficient for his Honour to conclude that although some significance might properly be attached to the difference in quantity, in the end that factor would make little practical difference to the sentence ultimately posed.
38 The only significant difference between the applicant and the co-offenders Jules, Jacob and Keram was his Honour's finding about the increased measure of planning and organisation on the applicant's part. That was a finding that differentiated the applicant from Jules. However, his Honour made a finding of some prior knowledge on the part of Jacob in terms that were not significantly different from the applicant's position. Perhaps it might be said that Jacob's decision to participate in the importation was more spontaneous, being made shortly prior to travelling. Nonetheless, Jacob went to Singapore with a purpose of participating in the drug importation. It is not known when the applicant first agreed to participate in this particular importation. But whenever it was, he and Jacob had an opportunity to either resist becoming involved or to pull out prior to travelling to Singapore. Neither did so. No finding was made as to the degree of planning that was involved on the part of Keram, although it is clear that his Honour also considered that his agreement was not opportunistically obtained in the same way as was the case with Jules.
39 Given those differences, I am not satisfied that the degree of planning that his Honour found in the applicant's case balanced out the quantity of drug imported, which in his case was 50% less than was the case of Keram and Jules and almost 25% less than was the case with Jacob. In my opinion, that objective circumstance required some different treatment. There are a number of reasons for this. There is greater criminality involved in bringing a larger quantity into the country. This was recognised in general terms by the High Court in Wong in the statement quoted by his Honour. The amount of harm potentially done to the Australian community is greater the greater the quantity of drug involved. The reward to the individual for agreeing to engage in the criminal behaviour is usually dependent upon the quantity of drug. That in turn is relevant both to personal and general deterrence.
40 It follows in my opinion that his Honour erred in failing to differentiate between the offenders in relation to quantity and in failing to do so, the applicant has a proper sense of grievance in the sense discussed in Lowe v The Queen (1984) 154 CLR 606 and Postiglione. It follows that there should be some variation in the sentence imposed upon the applicant so as to reflect the difference in criminality involved. Before deciding what variation ought be made, it is necessary to consider whether there is any sense of grievance that flowed having regard to the sentence imposed on PP.