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COVID-19 sees Queensland court slash 4 years from prison sentence
The Queensland Supreme Court has removed four and a half years from the sentence of a man convicted of trafficking drugs in light of COVID-19 concerns on the prison system.
Naomi Neilson
The impacts of the coronavirus pandemic have been felt in prisons across the country, not least Queensland who has now factored in the “short-term” effects on the long-term prison sentences of some of its most dangerous convicted criminals.
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Justice Helen Bowskill was determining the sentence for Ngoc Tang Phan, who had pleaded guilty for trafficking dangerous drugs, possessing a weapon and attempting to pervert the course of justice. COVID-19 was largely considered in the process.
“Ultimately, I have decided to reduce the sentence by four and a half years to the 17 years and six months imprisonment,” Justice Bowskill said. “I have factored [all] the restrictive circumstances in place due to COVID-19 into account by favouring the greater reduction for the guilty plea and reducing your sentence to that extent.”
There have been many changes to the prison system in Queensland to mitigate the risks of COVID-19, including refusing visitors and quarantining new or transferred prisoners.
Most recently, the Brisbane Supreme and District Courts enabled the Queensland Parole Board to trial fast-track parole applications for prisoners who are eligible.
In the case of Mr Phan, who made a $2.4 million profit a year from meth which he ordered from China or Sydney every couple of months, the COVID-19 pandemic discounted what was already an “appropriate sentence even more substantially” due to the impacts of the restrictions which have recently been imposed on prisons across the state.
Justice Bowskill predicted that there will be uncertainty around the prison system for some 12 months, with a vaccine not likely to be available until mid-2021. She said the purpose of the restrictions is to protect the health and wellbeing of prisoners.
“It is important to observe, however, that the situation is rapidly evolving. We are already starting to see the reduction of some restrictions in the broader community, as a result of the positive effect of control measures adopted to date,” Justice Bowskill said.
