14 Nov 2025
The Court held the judge's 15‑year starting point was manifestly excessive and that an appropriate starting point was 12 years; applying the judge's 25% discount for a late guilty plea produced a final sentence of 9 years' imprisonment, and the appeal against sentence was allowed to that extent.
20 Feb 2025
Leave to appeal was granted to permit appellate review of the starting point, the adequacy of discount for plea and the weight given to the suffocation act because those grounds raised arguable errors in sentencing; grounds asserting the judge had to deal expressly with every authority and that reliance on a comparator authority was impermissible were not sustainable as a matter of law or fact.
11 Aug 2015
Leave to appeal was refused because trial counsel consented to informing the jury of the co-accused’s plea, the judge’s directions were lawful, balanced and consistent with specimen directions and authorities, the diminished responsibility direction correctly stated the law and standard of proof, psychiatric evidence was fairly summarised, and the withdrawal direction faithfully reflected the evidence; no prejudice or material irregularity was established.
12 May 2010
The Court held that given the seriousness of the injuries, the near certainty of death had the victim fallen from the 20th floor, and the absence of sufficient mitigating factors to outweigh those aggravating features, the sentence of 13 years imprisonment was not manifestly excessive and the judge did not err in principle.
4 Apr 2005
Where the admissions were the subject of a proper voir dire and the trial judge gave full, correct directions on how the jury should determine whether the admissions were made and whether they were true, and where the overall evidence was strong, the convictions are safe and an application for leave to appeal against conviction must be dismissed.
18 Jul 2000
Transient psychosis induced by voluntary drug use is not a 'disease of the mind' under the M'Naghten rules; there was insufficient evidence of automatism or lack of voluntariness and sufficient evidence to support a jury finding that the applicant formed the intent to kill; conviction and six-year sentence stand.
29 Nov 1999
The Court allowed examination under s83V(1) to test credibility but declined to receive the evidence under s83V(2) because Liem's account was inconsistent with his contemporaneous police statement and Ricky Tung's affirmation did not provide a reasonable explanation for non-adduction; destroyed audio tapes were regrettable but trial counsel's decision not to rely on console printouts was a defensible tactical choice; trial judge's directions were fair; convictions and sentences were therefore safe and the application dismissed.
2 Sept 1997
The Court held the trial judge adequately directed the jury on the defence case and identification (including Turnbull guidance), did not improperly link the wallet/ID to the blood trail, and the 20-year sentence for attempted murder was within the appropriate range and not manifestly excessive; accordingly, leave to appeal against conviction and sentence was dismissed.
14 Mar 1997
The trial judge's directions on intent were adequate and appropriately related the law to the facts; the jury could determine whether the act was deliberate and whether the required intent existed at the time. The conviction was neither unsafe nor unsatisfactory and the sentence was appropriate, therefore the appeal is dismissed.
20 Oct 1995
Although the trial judge erred in part of the summing up by suggesting that intent to cause grievous bodily harm could suffice for attempted murder, the evidence of the contents of the parcel and the force of the explosion inevitably supported a conviction for attempted murder; accordingly the proviso was applied and the conviction was upheld. The trial judge erred in taking remission into account when fixing sentence; applying totality principles the Court reduced the sentence on count one to 20 years and ordered count two to run concurrently, reducing the total term to 20 years.