Source : Perth Now news
One of two men charged over an alleged people smuggling plot told a court he was in Queensland for a planned fishing trip.
Taiwanese man Chien-Wen Peng, 34, was detained by Border Force officers in a supermarket carpark near Weipa, in Far North Queensland, on Tuesday and charged with aggravated people smuggling of at least five people the same day.
In an application for bail in Carins Magistrate Court on Friday, duty solicitor Rowan King argued the case against Mr Peng relied heavily on circumstantial evidence, with no clear connections to smugglers networks yet identified by investigators.
“It is a circumstantial case … it is really the proximity to these people that have come into the country unlawfully,” Mr King told the court.
“There is no evidence that my client is involved in any syndicate, that he is connected to any established network or that he has some access to a network that could smuggle him out of Australia.”
Mr King told the court Mr Peng was found with fishing equipment and had told officers he was in Queensland for a fishing trip.
“Often in these cases people make those types of submissions … in circumstances where there are no fishing rods (found),” he said.
Chinese man Hao Wang, 30, was also detained on Tuesday under the Migration Act and later charged with aggravated people smuggling of at least five people, appearing in court for the first time on Friday morning.
The maximum sentence for people smuggling is 20 years’ imprisonment, with a mandatory minimum sentence of five years’ imprisonment and mandatory non-parole period of three years if convicted.
The men are alleged to have collected about 10 foreigners, believed to be from China, from a boat off the Cape York Peninsula, taking them to land near the Pennefather River.
The pair were seen on CCTV camera at Heritage Shopping Centre in Weipa before being escorted out by Australian Border Force officers.
Mr King argued his client was entitled to bail as he was not in a “show cause position”, which would require him to prove why his continued detention was not justified.
He said Mr Peng had been living in Australia under a legitimate visa since 2011, and was finalising his Australian citizenship, taking the citizenship exam on July 20 this year.
“He is employed as a painter, self employed,” Mr King said
“He has no children … he lives with his wife.”
The duty solicitor advised both Mr Peng and his wife, an Australian citizen, had no criminal history.
The court was told the couple had lived in a rental property in Berala, near Lidcombe in Sydney’s west, for about one year, with Mr Peng having lived in the area since arriving in Australia.
The solicitor argued there was no evidence Mr Peng would flee the country or fail to appear in court.
“The defendant is a 34-year-old man with no criminal history and gainful employment,” he said.
“The risk of failing to appear can be reduced to an acceptable level with conditions.”
Commonwealth prosecutor Christopher Moore argued there were “concerns from police that he may continue to organise people smuggling ventures into Australia” and investigations continued into any suspected connections to smuggling syndicates.
“It’s a strong crown case on its base at this point, circumstantial but it is alleged that this defendant had a role in the collection and movement of unlawful non-citizens within Australia,” he said.
Mr Moore told the court Mr Peng allegedly hired a vehicle in Cairns and travelled to Weipa where he stayed in a hotel room, booked under Mr Wang’s name, at the same hotel where the 10 non-citizens were located.
“(The co-accused) also hired cars from the same location about the same time, and those cars were spotted in areas of Weipa in the days leading up to the detection,” he said.
Due to a lack of criminal history and Mr Peng’s strong ties to his Australian community, acting magistrate Raimund Heggie granted bail on conditions.
As part of his bail release, Mr Peng agreed to return to his Sydney address, submit to a night-time curfew, report to police three times a week, advise police of his whereabouts in the course of his employment, surrender his passport and travel documents to the court, not to enter any international airport or leave the state of NSW, and not to contact his co-accused or any prosecution witnesses including the ten non-citizens involved in the alleged matter.
Mr Wang’s duty solicitor Amelia Doolan advised the court her client would not be applying for bail as he intended to engage private representation going forward; however, it was noted he may apply for bail at the next occasion.
Mr Wang’s matters were adjourned until July 16 to allow time for him to seek private counsel.
A brief of evidence for both matters was ordered to be delivered to the defendants by September 3, with their matters to be heard on October 1.
Earlier this week, Member for Cook David Kempton said authorities had since made contact with the remaining foreigners allegedly smuggled into Australia.
“I understand from authorities that the 10 to 12 illegal immigrants on board were apprehended near the Albatross Hotel in the middle of the Weipa township,” he said.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed the group of refugees who arrived by boat had since been deported.
“Every person who attempted to enter Australia without a visa has now been removed,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
