A Sydney family man acquitted of murder and manslaughter after he came to the aid of his female neighbour should still go to jail for wounding her ex-boyfriend, a judge has been told.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But Nou Loeung's barrister disagreed with the Crown submission, arguing his client's case was "exceptional, if not unique" and the judge could exercise leniency and impose a community penalty.
Loeung, 36, was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter by a NSW Supreme Court jury in May over the stabbing death of Ly Xuan Ho in a brawl outside Loeung's Bonnyrigg home in February 2016.
The jurors found Loeung acted in self-defence and was only trying to protect his home, family and a female neighbour, who'd turned to him for help.
But he was found guilty of wounding the neighbour's ex-boyfriend, Danny Nguyen, with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and of being armed with intent to commit an indictable offence, namely, assault.
At his sentence hearing on Friday, prosecutor Alex Morris submitted Loeung should be sentenced to full-time imprisonment for wounding Danny Nguyen in the leg, while he was sitting in the driver's seat of his car.
The maximum penalty for the offence was 25 years while the standard non-parole period was seven years.
But Loeung's barrister, Winston Terracini SC, argued for an Intensive Corrections Order saying his client has no criminal history, is a hard worker and came from a close-knit and supportive family.
"At the time of the (wounding), the offender had just been viciously attacked by a group of men, including Mr Nguyen, just outside of and then inside of the carport of the family home after he had tried to diffuse a domestic violence incident between Mr Nguyen and his ex-girlfriend," he said.
Justice Natalie Adams noted the need for general deterrence to deter people from taking the law into their own hands in such cases.
But she also noted his favourable subjective features and the unusual circumstances of the case, saying "if he hadn't gone to help a neighbour, he would not be here in court".
She will sentence Loeung on August 30.
Australian Associated Press