R v Qiang Sun [2004] VSC 276

Supreme Court of Victoria|2004-08-10|Before: TEAGUE J

Criminal Law - Sentencing - Manslaughter of young girl by young man - Significant aggravating and mitigating factors - Effective sentence of 9 years, with non-parole period of 6 years

Qiang Sun. You have been found guilty by a jury of the crime of manslaughter. On 20 December 2002 at Collingwood you killed Mei Kei Wong. The jury that found you guilty of manslaughter found you not guilty of murder. The jury could not have been satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that you had the intent required for murder at the time that you killed her. I have reservations about the credibility of aspects of your various accounts as to how the killing came about, and as to other matters. I will return later to the subject of your credibility.

In 2002, you were studying and working part-time in Melbourne. From late in November 2002, you worked at Shuji Sushi, a food bar in Flinders Lane, close to Queen Street. The deceased, also a student, came to work there part-time too. You did not know her until the two of you came to work together. Even at work, the two of you had not spoken much together.

On Friday 20 December 2002, you finished work around 4 p.m. at Shuji Sushi. You had not planned to do anything with the deceased. She left Shuji Sushi shortly after you did. She called to you as you crossed Queen Street, intending to walk to your car. She asked you if you could give her a lift to her second place of part-time work in Glen Waverley. You agreed to do so. The two of you walked to your car. You were then living in a rented flat in Victoria Parade, Collingwood. You wanted to change your clothes at your flat. You drove there. Both of you went into your flat. There, you talked. The talk was a prelude to the two of you having sexual intercourse.

I am not able to make precise findings as to how you killed the deceased. You gave evidence that after the sex, she said things, including as to a tattoo you have on your shoulder of a young girl, that caused you to become angry at her. You lost your temper. You hit her. You wrapped two towels around her head and neck. You tied her arms at the wrists. You tied her ankles. You wrapped a red blanket around her.

I am able to find that you chose then not to ring the police or ambulance. What you did instead was to make the choice to lie and to mislead, and in a big way. You embarked on a series of actions calculated to cover up your part in the death of the deceased. You placed the body in the blanket inside a number of garbage bags. You looked through the deceased's bag. From the bag you removed an ATM card and a mobile phone. You used the mobile phone to send a misleading text message. You placed the body in the boot of your car. With the body in the boot, you drove to Box Hill. Using the ATM card of the deceased, you made the first of a series of withdrawals from her account. You telephoned the man to whom you had to pay the rent on your flat. You arranged for him to come to the flat. There you handed him the rent money owing. Shortly after that, you telephoned at Shuji Sushi, another Chinese student. She goes by the name of Julia. You arranged to and did collect Julia at the end of her shift. You drove her back to your flat in your car. The deceased was still in the boot. In the early hours of the Saturday morning, at Camberwell, you made further withdrawals from the account of the deceased. Still more withdrawals were to follow after you learned that you could take out up to $800 per day. Over those next few days, you associated with Julia more frequently than you had been accustomed to do.

On the Monday, you drove out to Lilydale. You drove off the road into a paddock. You took the body from the boot of the car. You poured petrol over the body. You set fire to it. You left the fire, notifying nobody. The remains were not found until the Thursday. Meanwhile, you had discarded the belongings of the deceased in a garbage bin. You took steps to clean the flat to obliterate any indication of the deceased having been there. When the police came to speak with you, you told them a carefully crafted story partly true and partly lies. You blamed Julia for the death of the deceased. You portrayed yourself as merely Julia's pawn. You said nothing of the deceased having been hit. Instead, you said to the police various things suggesting that Julia had used towels to suffocate or strangle the deceased.

You lied then in a manipulative way to the police in an attempt to protect yourself. You later conceded that you had lied. On any view, you are a man who is disposed to lie to advantage. That position was reinforced before the jury was empanelled. You gave evidence on oath before me alone. You claimed then that the police had treated you inappropriately in a number of different ways. You portrayed yourself as a frightened victim of police threats and intimidation. I was well satisfied then that you were lying in a manipulative way in an attempt to avoid having to have your earlier lies to the police exposed. You gave evidence before the jury. The evidence you gave was tailored to fit in with or appropriately explain other evidence. It was convincing enough to create a reasonable doubt as to your intention at the critical time.

There is evidence before me as to some matters relevant to how you are sentenced. A genuinely remorseful person deserves a lesser penalty. So does a person prepared to devote his future to working to rehabilitate others. I accept that you are remorseful. I am unable to accept that you are as remorseful as you claim to be. I accept that you have done significant work towards rehabilitation. I am more inclined to treat as manipulative than as genuine your claims as to religious conversion, and as to your desire to work in the future to assist persons in prison.

You have committed the serious crime of manslaughter. There are the significant aggravating circumstances to which I have referred. I make the comment that overall I do not view your crime as being at the high end or at the low end of relative seriousness for manslaughter.

I have read the victim impact statement filed on behalf of the brother of the deceased. It reflects, amongst other things, the guilt felt by him in persuading her to leave her family to come here, only to see her lost to that family forever.

Your background is reviewed in the report of the psychologist, Patrick Newton, that I have read carefully. I have also reflected on the various other documents tendered on the plea, and the oral testimony then given.

You were born in the People's Republic of China in April 1984. Your parents separated when you were a young boy. You were raised mainly by your maternal grandparents, with some assistance from your mother and her new partner. You did well at school in China until 2001, and in Melbourne during 2002. Until injuries intervened, you were an outstanding volleyball player. When you came to Melbourne, you were accompanied by a female friend, a person of much significance to you. The tattoo on your shoulder is of her. She severed the relationship shortly before the events of December 2002. That was a factor that bore on those events.

You are a man of above average intelligence. You are also a man who is disposed to work hard. Regrettably, you are also a man prone to exhibit bad temper on occasions. I also note that Patrick Newton observed indications of a schizoid personality disorder that he thought warranted monitoring.

There are a number of mitigating factors for which I must allow in your favour. At 20, you are a very young man. You have no prior convictions or trouble with the police either in China or here. As noted earlier, you have shown some indications of some remorse. You have also engaged in conduct calculated to indicate a desire to rehabilitate yourself and to work to help others in need of rehabilitation. You have done a number of courses while in prison. You will find prison the more onerous because time will be served away from your family, but with the near certainty of your being deported on release. I also allow for the fact that, shortly before the trial on the charge of murder, you offered to plead guilty to manslaughter.

I have signed the order as to the retention of the body sample earlier obtained. You have served pre-sentence detention of 587 days. I so declare, and I direct that that be recorded. I impose a sentence of nine years imprisonment. I fix a non-parole period of six years.

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