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[2017] VSC 264
General information, not legal advice.
Supreme Court of Victoria
2017-05-18
Beale J
Original judgment source is linked above.
CRIMINAL LAW - Sentence - Attempted murder - Victim sustained multiple stab wounds to upper chest and left hand - Offending occurred in context of relationship breakdown - Guilty plea entered at first reasonable opportunity - Mid-range example of offence of attempted murder - Limited degree of premeditation - No prior or subsequent convictions - Good prospects of rehabilitation - 9 years' imprisonment with non-parole period of 6 years.
1 Charan Hannarong, you have pleaded guilty to attempted murder, which carries a maximum penalty of 25 years' imprisonment.
2 At your plea hearing, the prosecution tendered a detailed summary of facts. Your counsel indicated that you did not take issue with any of the facts alleged in that summary.
3 In these sentencing remarks, my summary of the facts will be briefer but will include some passages from the prosecution summary.
4 Both you and your victim, Ms Pentakarn Yoosuan, are Thai nationals.
5 In early 2013, you, Mr Hannarong, came to Australia to undertake farm work. You left behind a pregnant defacto wife. You hoped to improve your family's financial situation.
6 In mid 2014, Ms Yoosuan came to Australia to undertake the same sort of work and for the same reason. She left behind 3 young children.
7 In late 2014, the two of you met working on a farm near Wangaratta. A relationship developed between you, although it was understood that you would both return to your respective families when you each returned to Thailand.
8 In early 2015, you and Ms Yoosuan moved in together.
9 On 6 November 2015 - a couple of weeks before your offence - the two of you were at party. Around 8pm, you wanted to go home as you had work the next day. Ms Yoosuan wanted to stay longer. You punched her once to the head. You later told a psychologist, Guy Coffey, from whom your lawyers commissioned a report, that you were very intoxicated at the time you punched Ms Yoosuan to the head.[1] After this incident, Ms Yoosuan stayed with friends, and despite your entreaties over the next few weeks, she refused to return to you.
10 On 21 November 2015 - the day of the offence - you contacted Ms Yoosuan, wanting to talk. She told you there was nothing to talk about. That same evening, you attended a party at which she was present. I will now quote paragraphs 7 to 11 of the prosecution summary.
[7] ... About 10 to 12 people attended the party including [Hannarong]. Early in the evening, [Yoosuan] went out into the backyard to attend to some cherries she was drying out. Whilst she was turning the cherries over, [Hannarong] approached her and asked her why she was not avoiding him this time, and she told him that she was not going to avoid him because she knew why he was there. He then told her that he was going to get a glass of wine to 'help me boost myself up'. [Hannarong] went back inside the house to get a glass of wine and when he returned he asked [Yoosuan] to go over to the hammock so that they could talk.
[8] [Yoosuan] sat on the hammock with [Hannarong] , sitting nearby on the ground. He asked her if there was any chance of them getting back together and she told him that there wasn't, but they could still be friends. [Hannarong] then said something to the effect of 'Do you want to die, maybe we can die together'. [Yoosuan] responded by asking him why was he thinking like that because they both had children and responsibilities. [Hannarong] then told her that he had been thinking about it last night and suggested that they die together.
[9] At first [Yoosuan] thought he was joking but after a while she became concerned for her safety. She messaged a friend to request the friend to ring her so that she had an excuse to move away from [Hannarong]. When [Yoosuan's] friend called her, she moved to a different part of the backyard to take the call and [Hannarong] went back inside the house. Whilst [Yoosuan] was on the telephone to her friend, [Hannarong] came back outside and approached [Yoosuan] from behind and put his arm around her neck.
[10] [Hannarong] did not say anything but [Yoosuan] knew it was [Hannarong] grabbing her because she recognised the tattoo on his arm. She asked him why he was doing this and dropped her phone. [Hannarong] had armed himself with a knife and stabbed [Yoosuan] three times in the upper chest before she could take any defensive action. When [Hannarong] attempted to stab her on a fourth occasion, [Yoosuan] grabbed the knife with her left hand to prevent him from stabbing her. He pulled the knife out of her hand, leaving [Yoosuan's] hand and fingers badly cut.
[11] By that stage, [Yoosuan] was on the ground feeling weak and believed that she would die. She called out for help, and some of her friends came running to her assistance. [Yoosuan] looked over to where [Hannarong] was on the ground and saw that he was stabbing himself in the chest. The people at the party put [Yoosuan] and [Hannarong] into separate cars and they were driven to the Wangaratta Hospital.
11 After some initial treatment at Wangaratta Hospital, Ms Yoosuan was airlifted to the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne where she underwent a number of operations or procedures.
12 Her injuries are described in paragraph 12 of the prosecution summary.
[12] ... Upon examination, [Yoosuan] was found to have three deep stab wounds to her right chest area. Two stab wounds passed through the skin and into the loose connective tissue, causing the chest wall muscle to be trapped within the chest cavity. The third stab wound penetrated her chest cavity causing her right lung to collapse with surrounding bleeding. She was also observed to have superficial cuts on her left hand and deep lacerations to her left ring and little fingers causing tendon damage.
13 On 10 December 2015, Ms Yoosuan was discharged from the Alfred Hospital into the care of her sister.
14 You also sustained multiple self-inflicted injuries during the incident, as described in paragraph 16 of the prosecution summary:
[16] ... Over his left chest wall, [Hannarong] had 25 stab wounds in an irregular, random pattern. The wounds varied between 0.5 cm to 2 cm in length and were stapled. He also had a punctured left lung and a chest drain was inserted to drain the blood and air from his chest cavity to allow his left lung to re-inflate.
15 I note that the stabbing occurred shortly before 7pm on 21 November 2015 and a blood sample was taken from you at Wangaratta Hospital at 8.55pm that night. Your blood alcohol reading was found to be .065% - for you, a relatively low reading, given your history of drinking to excess. No illicit or prescribed drugs were detected in your system.
16 I also note that the prosecution does not allege that you walked into the party armed with a knife intending to kill Ms Yoosuan from the outset. You gave the psychologist Mr Coffey the following account about when and how you armed yourself:
[80] Mr Hannarong said he recalls speaking with Ms Yoosuan for about fifteen minutes in the backyard. He said he has virtually no recollection of what was said. He said both that he couldn't recall what emotional state he was experiencing and that he didn't believe he was angry. He could not recall speaking with her while she sat in a hammock. He recollected going back to the car to find a knife; the knife he said was one he used to pick zucchinis. In contrast to the account of his interaction with Ms Yoosuan he gave a reasonably detailed description of finding the knife, where it was in relation to other objects (with clothes and a water bottle on the back seat) and how he had left his keys in the ignition. He said his next memory is of holding Ms Yoosuan and stabbing her but again the recollection is unclear. He could retrieve a vague mental image of stabbing himself; his next memory is that of finding himself in hospital.
17 You did not offer a reason for your offending at the time. On legal advice you made a no comment record of interview. Given your creditable history, of which I will say more later, your extreme outburst of violence is, on one level, difficult to understand. In my view you were not intoxicated, though you may have been somewhat disinhibited by alcohol. Mr Coffey found no evidence of mental illness or personality disorder. I consider Mr Coffey's analysis at [100] of his report to be plausible:
[100] The most parsimonious explanation for the index offence, in the absence of any other competing possibilities on the evidence, is that it was actuated by intense anger and distress in relation to the separation. His attempted suicide immediately after the offence was possibly in the service of two impulses: to escape the consequences of his actions and to put an end to living with the distress the separation had caused.
18 Ms Yoosuan's victim impact statement was tendered at the plea hearing. She wonders how she can ever be happy again. When you attacked her, she thought she was going to die. She is plagued by an image of herself covered in blood. She can no longer do what she came to Australia to do, namely provide for her family in Thailand, through manual work. The injuries to her hand have prevented her from resuming farm work. She is supported by her sister but, from her perspective, the future is bleak.
19 All attempted murders are serious offences. That said, it is necessary for sentencing purposes to consider where your offence, viewed objectively, falls on the spectrum of seriousness for attempted murder. The following objective features are relevant:
20 Unquestionably this is a serious example of the offence of attempted murder but the degree of premeditation was limited and the long-term effects for the victim, whilst serious, are not catastrophic.
21 In my view, this is a mid-range example of the offence of attempted murder, a conclusion with which the prosecution and defence agreed.
22 Turning now to your circumstances, you were born on 2 January 1977. You were 38 at the time of the offence and are now aged 40.
23 Your parents, who are now both deceased, were rice farmers. You have 2 sisters.
24 From when you were 3 until you were 7, your father was in jail, during which time your mother re-partnered. Your mother bore 3 more children to your step-father, with whom you got on well. The following passage appears in Mr Coffey's report:
[13] He described his home life as close and supportive. His mother and step father enjoyed a warm and harmonious relationship. There was no family violence. He said arguments with his parents were infrequent and he was not subject to harsh discipline. The family was poor but the essential material needs were met.
25 You left school at age 12. You helped look after your 3 half siblings.
26 When you were about 15, you began work in the construction industry, the industry in which your stepfather worked.
27 Over the years you worked as a labourer, in factories, driving a taxi and, of course, on farms. For a time you had your own business, hiring out audio equipment.
28 When you were about 18, both of your parents died. According to what you told Mr Coffey, you began drinking heavily around this time. Mr Coffey diagnosed you as having an Alcohol Use Disorder, now in remission due to you being in 'a controlled environment'.
29 When you were about 22, you commenced a defacto relationship with a woman named Gamonpun, who lives in Thailand and to whom you have a son.
30 When you were about 36 you came to Australia, with financial assistance provided by a half-sister. You came on a student visa which had expired by the time of your offence.
31 Your son was born on 9 August 2013,[2] after you came to Australia. Unfortunately, you have never met him.
32 To your credit, you have no criminal antecedents here or in Thailand.
33 I find that you have good prospects of rehabilitation. I make that finding based on the following considerations:
34 I take account of the following matters in mitigation of your sentence:
35 In relation to current sentencing practices for attempted murder, I have had regard to the relevant sentencing statistics compiled by the Sentencing Advisory Council[6] and carefully considered a number of cases which, broadly speaking, are either similar or instructively different. Those cases are: Black[7]; Boodhoo[8]; Brew[9]; Byrne[10]; Dong[11]; Rapovski[12]; Saltmarsh[13] and Soteriou[14].
36 Just punishment, denunciation and general deterrence must loom large in the sentence I impose on you. The protection of the community requires stern punishment for such offending. Men must not respond with violence when a woman chooses to end a relationship. Specific deterrence is less of a concern in your case because of your good prospects of rehabilitation. In the interests of your rehabilitation, which also serves the protection of the community, there will be a significant difference between the head sentence and the non-parole period.
38 I sentence you to 9 years' imprisonment with a non-parole period of 6 years.
39 I declare, pursuant to s 6AAA of the Sentencing Act 1991, that but for your plea of guilty, I would have sentenced you to 11 years' imprisonment with a non-parole period of 8 years.
40 I declare that you have served 538 days, not including today, by way of presentence detention.
41 I make the Disposal Order sought by the prosecution.
[1] Report of clinical psychologist Guy Coffey dated 2 April 2017 at [73].
[2] Report of clinical psychologist Guy Coffey dated 2 April 2017 at [29].
[3] Although he did find that you have an Alcohol Use Disorder, now in remission due to you being in a 'controlled environment', at [69].
[4] Transcript of Proceedings (7 April 2017) 27.14-27.18.
[6] Sentencing Advisory Council, Sentencing Snapshot No 21: Sentencing trends for attempted murder in the higher courts of Victoria, 2001-02 to 2005-06 (January 2007).
[7] DPP v Black [2016] VSC 564.
[8] DPP v Boodhoo [2016] VSC 458.
[9] R v Brew [2013] VSC 131.
[10] R v Byrne [2016] VSC 580.
[11] R v Dong [2012] VSC 525.
[12] R v Rapovski [2015] VSC 359.
[13] DPP v Saltmarsh [2013] VSCA 290.
[14] Soteriou v The Queen [2013] VSCA 328.
The Queen
Hannarong [2017] VSC 264