CRIMINAL CASE NO. 271 OF 2008
COURT: This defendant pleaded guilty at committal on 14 November this year to three charges of robbery. Today he confirmed the plea and the facts that he admitted on 14 November.
The facts of each charge showed that he adopted a similar modus operandi in respect of each offence. In each case the victim was a female sex worker. On each occasion the defendant posed as a customer. Soon after he entered the flat, he took out his knife and demanded money. In two of the cases he demanded their telephones as well.
In Charge 1, the victim described the knife as being about 1 foot long. In Charge 2, the knife was described as having an 8 to 9 inch blade with a 3 to 4 inch handle. In Charge 3, the victim referred to the knife presented as “a sharp knife”. Although the knife was presented, it was not used against the victims.
Charge 1 occurred on 13 May, and two charges occurred on the 14th; that is, Charges 2 and 3.
The defendant was arrested on the 14th at a Video Games Centre. A knife was found in his rucksack, together with a paper cutter, $1,070 in cash, some white plastic gloves and a surgical mask.
Under caution, the defendant admitted the robberies and claimed he was in debt in the sum of $100,000. He had wages of only $7,500 a month. He told the police that the paper cutter found in his rucksack was for use at his job only, but admitted that the gloves and mask were intended for robbery purposes.
All three victims identified the defendant as the robber at an Identification Parade on 14 May.
The defendant has a juvenile criminal record which is irrelevant for the purposes of this offence; he is treated as being of clear record. I was advised that he has recently turned 29. He lived with his parents. His parents are both being treated for illnesses, and he was responsible for the maintenance of the family, as well as any medical expenses. He contributed $2,000 a month from his salary of $7,500 to his parents. He was also supporting his girlfriend’s family to the tune of $2,000 a month, and adopted responsibility for the funeral expenses of his girlfriend’s younger sister, who died in December of 2007.
The expenses which he was supporting required him to borrow money on credit cards and from financial institutions. The monthly repayments snowballed until finally he owed the sum of $100,000. He was unable to pay that sum. Debt collection agents were appointed, and he was under pressure from those collectors.
Those grounds explain, but do not condone, his behaviour. These were serious offences. They effectively involved invasion of private premises. There were a number of offences. A knife was presented, although, as I have said, it was not used, and in two of the cases he returned the telephones that were initially taken.
I have taken into account the facts of the case. These mobile offences are similar in some respects, for sentencing purposes to the offences committed against taxi drivers.
I take an overall starting point of 9 years for, each of the three offences. For each offence I impose a sentence of 6 years, giving full account for the pleas of guilty, taking totality into account, and I order that those sentences run concurrently, making a total of 6 years’ imprisonment.