25 Jun 2019
Leave to appeal was refused because the sentencing starting point, the 12‑month enhancement for Form 8 status, and the additional 4‑month discount for assistance were all within binding Court of Appeal guidance and judicial discretion, and the aggregate sentence of 7 years was not manifestly excessive.
6 Aug 2015
The Court held that the judge did not err in awarding a 40% discount: the appropriate discount for assistance without testifying is fact-sensitive and normally 40%–45%; on these facts Chim's arrest and plea were not attributable to the applicant and the prosecution had a strong case without him, so 40% was within the permissible range; the judge's stray remark about 50% being reserved for 'super-grass' did not affect the outcome.
10 Sept 2013
Given the quantity of 680g of cocaine the Judge's starting point of 20 years 6 months fell within the Abdallah guideline range; a one‑year uplift for the international/importing element was warranted; applying a one‑third guilty plea discount produced 14 years 4 months which was not wrong in principle nor manifestly excessive, so the application for leave to appeal against sentence was dismissed.