CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. HAA 55 OF 1996
(SUVA MAGISTRATES COURT CASE NO. 2800 OF 1995)
BETWEEN:
&-GB>
VINOD PRASAD
(f/n Ram Prasad)
Appellant
AND:
THE STATE
Respondent
Appellant in Person
W. Clarke for the Respondent
JUDGMENT
On 13 May 1996 the Appellant was convicted of 66 counts of forgertering forged documents and associated offences. He was sentenced
to a total of 3½ years imrs imprisonment consecutive to the sentence of 4 years imprisonment which he was already serving and which
was imposed upon him on 20 December 1995 by the same Court.
Although there are four grounds of appeal grounds 2 and 3 are not supported byrecord while ground 4 makes no sense since it is the
Court ourt and not the prosecution which decides what sentence to impose. In his submissions the Appellant appeared to recognise
that only the first ground which was to the effect that the sentence was excessive in all the circumstances, stood any chance of
success.
The Appellant has a truly terrible record which shows that he has been committing offences more or less continuously for the last
29 years whenever, following his releases from prison, he as the opportunity to do so. Mr. Clarke while accepting that the total
sentence of 7½ years was at the upper end of the scale submitted that the Appellant was clearly incorrigible and that therefore the
public should be protected from him. While I appreciate the force of Mr. Clarke's argument I am also mindful that it is a principle
of sentencing that a prisoner should not lose all hope and particularly bearing in mind that the offences were committed prior to
the Appellant's previous Court appearance I am of the opinion that the present sentence is too long and should be reduced. The 3½
years will be reduced to 2 years which means that the total sentence to be served by the Appellant will be 6 years.
M.D. Scott
JUDGE
5 December 1996
Ht>aa55j.96s
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