Police v Singh [2017] NZDC 13678 (26 June 2017)

Last Updated: 2 November 2017

_{EDITORIAL NOTE: NO SUPRESSION APPLIED.}

IN THE DISTRICT COURT AT MANUKAU

CRI-2017-092-001821 [2017] NZDC 13678

NEW ZEALAND POLICE

Prosecutor

v

RANJEET SINGH

_Defendant

Hearing:	26 June 2017
Appearances:	D Becker for the Prosecutor V Heather for the Defendant
Judgment:	26 June 2017

_{NOTES OF JUDGE G A ANDRÉE WILTENS ON SENTENCING}

[1] Mr Singh, by my count there were 10 instances of criminal offending involving 12 charges in total by you:

- the first was back in June of 2016 dishonestly converting a car. You did not plead to that charge until 12 months after the event, it was a very late plea.

- two weeks later there is a male assaults female charge and I note in relation to that you did not plead to that until November

- the third offence was another car conversion in July of last year,

- two breaches of bail in August,

_{- another car conversion in August,}

NEW ZEALAND POLICE v RANJEET SINGH [2017] NZDC 13678 [26 June 2017]

- obtaining by deception, a total of $1000, in August,

- three shop thefts in September - perfume, two drills and a drill and a bar of some description,

- another obtaining by deception – this time $900, and

- in December using somebody’s motor vehicle by way of a car conversion

and obtaining another car by car conversion, and lastly

- theft of a vehicle

[2] So on 11 of these occasions your actions involved dishonesty and on the other one, violence in a domestic setting.

[3] In relation to the violence in the domestic setting, the male assaults female charge it is pretty distressing to think that you might be living with this person, end up having a dispute with them, punching them to the back of the head and calling them names like “Bitch”, suggesting that she is having affairs with other people, walking around the vehicle, opening the door and then leaning in towards the victim and continuing to hit her in the face and again abusing her and calling her names. For that male assaults female charge by itself the starting point is one of three months’ imprisonment.

[4] You have one previous conviction which occurred back in July of last year which was a theft. It must have been a relatively minor matter because you were dealt with by way of come up for sentence if called upon in 12 months.

[5] So there are similar offences to that in the next category of offences for which you need to be sentenced today - a further 11 offences of dishonesty occurring over a six-month period which need to be taken into account.

[6] You are 24 years old, you are not a baby anymore, you are not immature, you know exactly what you are doing and you are, as the pre-sentence report-writer says, acting in a very deceitful and dishonest fashion against members of our community.

You recognise that the only appropriate sentence today is a period of imprisonment before you are repatriated back to your home country.

[7] Looking at the overall picture, the least restrictive outcome that I can see here is a start point of two years’ imprisonment for the dishonesty offences and the breaches of bail and then adding three months for the male assaults female and one month for the previous dishonesty conviction. So what I see as the least restrictive outcome in terms of the overall offending is a term of 28 months’ imprisonment.

[8] Your pleas have not come early so I am prepared to give you a discount of

10 percent for that. There is nothing in the pre-sentence report that assists me any further.

[9] The overall sentence that I am imposing is one of 25 months imprisonment. I am imposing that on all the car conversion charges, with one month imprisonment on the other matters all to be served concurrently.

[10] So you now need to serve 25 months less what time you get off for good behaviour before you are repatriated.

Judge GA Andrée Wiltens

District Court Judge

Date of authentication: 2 July 2017

In an electronic form, authenticated pursuant to Rule 2.2(2)(b) Criminal Procedure Rules 2012.