R. v. Lim Date:, 2011 BCPC 163

Citation: R. v. Lim Date: 20110630 2011 BCPC 0163 File No: 86693-2C Registry: Port Coquitlam IN THE PROVINCIAL COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA REGINA v. JOON WOO LIM ORAL REASONS FOR SENTENCE OF THE HONOURABLE JUDGE ST. PIERRE Counsel for the Crown: S. McCallum Counsel for the Accused: M. Rowan Place of Hearing: Port Coquitlam, B.C.

Date of Hearing: June 30, 2011 Date of Judgment: June 30, 2011 [ 1 ] THE COURT : Joon Woo Lim has pleaded guilty to four counts of robbery while armed with an offensive weapon and two counts of attempted robbery while armed with an offensive weapon: • Count 1 is the robbery of Jessica Ong with an offensive weapon. • Count 3 is the robbery of Hyo Sim Choi while armed with an offensive weapon. • Count 4 is attempted robbery of Ma Carissa Olete while armed with an offensive weapon. • Count 6 is the robbery of Barbara Doreen Moulson while armed with an offensive weapon. • Count 7 is the attempted robbery of Jae Rin Lee while armed with an offensive weapon. • Count 9 is the robbery of Lamia Siam while armed with an offensive weapon. [ 2 ] Mr.

Lim pleaded guilty to these offences on June 22nd, 2011 and has been in custody since his arrest on May 6th, 2011. He is eligible to receive credit towards any sentence that is imposed for that time in pre-trial detention, approximating very close to two months. [ 3 ] It will become evident as to why this case is such a tragic and difficult one when one juxtaposes the terrible and inexplicable acts committed by Mr. Lim against the extraordinary fact that Mr.

Lim had no prior contact with the police and was, prior to these events, a well-respected father, husband and prominent member of his church and community. [ 4 ] On May 4th, Mr. Lim celebrated his ninth wedding anniversary with his wife and two young children, aged eight and six. He left that celebratory dinner apparently to deliver some money to an individual. [ 5 ] What happened over the course of the next 28 hours or so could not possibly be foreseen by anyone except maybe Mr. Lim of course. He had consumed a large quantity of methamphetamines: reportedly three or more bags of methamphetamines over a 36-hour

period. [ 6 ] Fuelled by these illicit narcotics, he stole a car, he drove around Surrey, he found a woman by the name of Jessica Ong at the Fireside Coffee House at about 5:20 a.m. and with his face masked, he demanded money from her or he would hurt her. [ 7 ] At 6:10 a.m. he was in North Vancouver where he saw Ms. Hyo Sim Hester Choi, who was on her way to school, minding her own business. He rushed at her with a tire iron in his hand and robbed her of her backpack and ran away.

By that time, he had secured some stolen plates for the stolen car that he was driving. [ 8 ] At 8:20 a.m. he was still in North Vancouver where he saw Ma Carissa Olete. She was on her way to a nanny job. He rushed at her and hit her with the tire iron. He was wearing a hoodie and a black cloth on his face to hide his identity. He was frightened off of that robbery attempt. There are photographs of Ms. Olete's injuries showing the bruises and abrasions that she suffered in that attack. [ 9 ] Mr. Lim was seen driving the stolen vehicle erratically down on Highway 1 on his way to Coquitlam where at 9:30 a.m. Ms.

Barbara Doreen Moulson was on her way to a hairdressing appointment. Apparently he started shouting someone else's name and got Ms. Moulson's attention, rushed her and threw her to the ground, while hitting her on the head with the tire iron. She was bloodied in that attack and beaten quite badly. She required stitches in her head and suffered severe bruising. She had several hundred dollars stolen. Ms. Moulson, I believe, is 81 years old, and she was still able to give the police the stolen licence plate number of the car and was incredibly resilient during that attack. Ms.

Moulson attended a portion of the sentencing hearing with her family and she is here today. [ 10 ] Mr. Lim then headed back to Surrey where he dumped the tire iron, switched vehicles, and actually spent some time with his family. There was a break in his activities at that time. [ 11 ] Then at 10:00 p.m. on May 5th he was out again in Coquitlam where his vehicle crashed into the rear of a vehicle being driven by Ms. Jae Rin Lee who had her 13-year-old daughter with her. Mr. Lim was wearing a ski mask and had a hammer in his hand and he ran to Ms. Lee and attacked her.

He grabbed her by the hair and struck her about 20 times. She tried to prevent him from leaning into her vehicle and she was struck some more. He apparently was scared off by her screams and he drove away in the stolen vehicle. She received some heavy bruising as well. [ 12 ] He next drove to Vancouver and stole some different licence plates for the vehicle. In fact, the licence plates were from a vehicle of the same make and model. He was driving for a while and then decided to sleep for about six hours. When he woke, he again drove around for a while and found Ms.

Lamia Siam, with her six-month-old baby in a baby basket, standing outside an apartment building trying to get in. He approached her and told her that he would kill the baby if he did not get her purse. Even after he was given the purse, he hit hard on the hip with the hammer, but she was able to tell the police what the licence plate of that stolen vehicle was. [ 13 ] Around 12:34 p.m. the Coquitlam RCMP located the vehicle and followed it as it was driven erratically through red lights and such. It was followed to Surrey where Mr. Lim dumped the vehicle and attempted to flee.

He was arrested with the mask, gloves and other stolen items found in the vehicle. [ 14 ] I am told that the police recognized at that time that he was intoxicated from the narcotic he had been ingesting over that period of time and they held off any interview with him until the following day where eventually an experienced police officer, appealing to Mr. Lim's religious beliefs, elicited a full confession from him. He has been in custody since that day which was May 6, 2011. [ 15 ] I am advised that those facts really cannot be disputed by Mr.

Lim as he says that he has no recall of the events that occurred over the 28-hour robbery spree that he engaged in over that time. [ 16 ] These acts were all committed by Mr. Joon Woo Lim and the question is: who is Mr. Lim? [ 17 ] Mr. Lim will be 33 years old in August. He was born in Seoul, Korea. His father is a pastor with the Apostolic church; they moved to the country in Korea at an early age as his father was starting missionary work in Korea. His father indicates that Mr. Lim was a very good student in Korea.

He was the class president every year; he was awarded what is called "A good child award" every semester; he won awards for writing and drawing. He has one younger sister. [ 18 ] Mr. Lim's family immigrated to Canada in 1993. He attended school in North Vancouver and graduated from high school there. He was captain of the school tennis team. His father started an Apostolic church here and Mr. Lim himself was ordained as a sub- deacon at the age of 15 years. [ 19 ] After high school, Mr.

Lim did not go to college, but he spent some time working with his father at a used car dealership that they had started. [ 20 ] In 2002, he was married. He was ordained as an assistant priest in the church. He continued to work hard in the church and there are a great many letters from members of the congregation and otherwise attesting to his good character, his selfless behaviour, his capacity to help others in times of need; that sort of thing. [ 21 ] In 2003, he had a son, and in 2004, his daughter was born. By all accounts, he is a loving husband and a doting father.

He has a beautiful wife (who has been here every day) and a family. [ 22 ] He bought a small sushi restaurant in 2005 and ran that for about five years. Apparently he was putting in long hours at the restaurant and this caused him to step down from his position at the church. [ 23 ] Financial pressures were building. He had started gambling around the age of 19 and it had become a problem for him during this period of time. He had difficulty handling the stress. He had already started having difficulties with the finances due to the restaurant as well as his gambling.

[ 24 ] The family tried to assist him but he was somewhat resistant to those efforts at times. He was introduced to drugs apparently by a chef at the restaurant in 2010 and he used those drugs to self-medicate as his life spiralled out of control. At first, he used ecstasy, and in November of 2010 he was introduced to methamphetamines, the very worst of all narcotics in my experience. He was hiding this use from his family. [ 25 ] At times, he has shown an ability to deceive his family about his gambling problems and his drug problems.

In April of this year he started gambling again after a period of time where he was not gambling; he recognized he had a problem and joined the self- exclusion program. [ 26 ] He sold the restaurant. He taught ski lessons at Grouse over the 2010 or early 2011 ski season. He made decent money doing that but that job ended only days or weeks prior to the offences. He later told police he was stressed out about how to pay his mortgage and support his family. [ 27 ] As I indicated, on May 4th he and his wife had dinner at home by themselves. A few days later, Mr.

Lim's life and the lives of his victims and his family were forever changed. [ 28 ] There is a letter from an ordained minister from Ontario who worked with Mr. Lim where he says this: Throughout the ensuing years I welcomed every encounter with Joon Lim and his family. Joon served in the congregations in Vancouver in many ways. He was especially helpful with his translation abilities. Our main church housed three congregations: English, Cambodian and Korean.

It was heart warming to see the way Joon interacted with the little children from all three congregations, regardless of nationality. [ 29 ] There are letters from people all over the community who have dealt with him and have found him to be a calm and tranquil man who would offer assistance without being asked. [ 30 ] A letter from his wife indicates that he is honest, heart felt and candid. She describes a loving husband and father, but she does not sugar coat his fall from grace in the last few years. He had become a man plagued by stress, anxiety and this intractable gambling addiction.

He joined the self-exclusion program at the casinos, and she candidly describes his faults as well. In addition to that, she is very clear that he is a generous and loving man and she stands beside him. She believes that he is truly remorseful for his actions. [ 31 ] A long and detailed letter from his sister paints a picture of a protective, loving brother, and an honourable man. [ 32 ] He has written apology letters to all of his victims. Whether or not they accept his letters -- and none of them can be blamed for choosing not to -- I accept that he has genuine remorse for his actions.

He has also made an emotional plea here in Court expressing his immense regret for his conduct. [ 33 ] With respect to the aggravating factors in this case, there are obviously a number of them. The Crown has succinctly summarized them in the very helpful written submissions that both counsel have provided to the Court and I thank both counsel for doing that. It is of great assistance. [ 34 ] As to the aggravating factors, of course the drug use and the very significant amount of drugs that Mr. Lim ingested during the course of these events was no doubt a factor in this case.

Whether one can say that but for the drugs there would not have been any criminal activity, the bottom line is that at the start of the whole scenario Mr. Lim voluntarily ingested drugs that everybody must know by now have a very negative impact on a person's ability to have reasonable judgment. [ 35 ] There is the repetition of the criminal conduct; it was a series of robberies. There is the escalating use of violence during those robberies where he was brandishing weapons and then using them to inflict injury.

There is the type of weapons: the tire iron and hammer. [ 36 ] There are the threats that he used against these individuals to harm them if they did not comply, and threats to harm a six-month- old baby. [ 37 ] There is the planning involved. He took steps to switch licence plates on the vehicle; took steps to try to hide his identity; took steps to try to avoid detection.

There is the use of a stolen vehicle and stolen licence plates and again that is related to the planning. [ 38 ] There is the dangerous driving where he took the police on a bit of a road chase before he was apprehended. [ 39 ] Most importantly, there are the consequences of these crimes. Four of Mr. Lim's victims suffered physical injuries, two of which required medical attention. And of course these were vulnerable victims. They were picked out because they were women and they were alone.

In fact I think in one situation he left somebody alone because there were too many people about; the behaviour was predatory in other words. [ 40 ] The mitigating factors are also significant. Mr. Lim does not have a criminal record. He has had no contact with the police; he is 33 years old; he is a first offender; and he has never served a custodial sentence. [ 41 ] He has entered a plea of guilty early in the proceedings. In fact, in my mind he gave a full and frank confession to the police immediately or very shortly after the incidents.

It was the kind of confession that again did not sugar coat his involvement. He told the police he knew what he was doing was wrong. [ 42 ] For most of his adult life, again very significantly, he was a very productive and contributing member of his society as I have already indicated in summarizing his life. His behaviour really was extraordinary in these circumstances. One does not often see individuals engaged in the kind of conduct exhibited by Mr. Lim with the kind of antecedents that he has or lack of a criminal record and the kind of character that he has shown previously.

[43] I also have the victim impact statements which I have read carefully because they reflect -- all of them -- the traumatizing natureof the nightmare that they experienced at the hands of Mr. Lim. The fact is that they will never really have the same feelings of peaceand security again when they go out and in Canada that is a tragedy because that is one of the things we cherish.

The victims havewritten their impact statements very carefully, and they are compelling. [44] The Crown says that the significant principles of sentencing in this case are deterrence, denunciation, rehabilitation, andprotection of the public. They maintain strongly that deterrence and denunciation are the paramount concerns in this case. [45] The Crown suggested a sentencing range for these types of offences might be found in R. v. Brogan, 1999 BCCA 278 ,[1999] B.C.J.

No. 1011 in which the Court of Appeal suggested two to nine years was appropriate, but the Crown says when thecircumstances of this case are taken into account the range is five to six years incarceration in a federal penitentiary. [46] I will briefly summarize the cases that were provided by the Crown. [47] R. v. Brogan, supra, involved two armed robberies; the taking of a hostage; Brogan had a minor criminal record; the sentenceimposed was eight years. He used what looked like a gun in the robberies: it was a pellet gun.

He had grabbed a customer at a gasstation and threatened to shoot her if the cashier did not hand over the money. That was found to be the most aggravating feature.

TheCourt found that there was really no reason for the trial judge to seriously enter the notion that rehabilitation ought to replace deterrenceand denunciation as the important sentencing goals in that case. [48] I adopt the comments of Madam Justice Ryan in Brogan, supra, at para. 10, with respect to the range and applicability of othercases where she said: [10] We have been given a number of cases where robbery with violence has been committed by young men such as Mr. Brogan. Ananalysis of the range produced by these cases is that the sentencing range is somewhere between 2 and 9 years.

The age of the offender,his previous criminal experience, the level of violence, the number of offences, the level of premeditation, whether the perpetrator wasdisguised or not, the type of weapon used and how it was used, the possibility of rehabilitation, the requirement of deterrence in aparticular community, are some of the factors which serve to distinguish one fact pattern from another. [And the most important part ofthis quote is the following] None of the cases drawn to our attention fits Mr.

Brogan's situation exactly, none could. [49] Of course that could be said about every case really because each case is unique. If they were not different, this would be a veryeasy job to do as far as sentencing goes. [50] In R. v. Earle and Jones, [1993] B.C.J. No. 1931, there were two armed robberies. Earle held the first victim at bay with acrossbow aimed at him and two days later there was another robbery. They both had criminal records. At trial, three years consecutiveeach for a total of six years was imposed. On appeal, the sentence was reduced to five years concurrent. [51] In R. v.

Morris, 2003 BCCA 271, there were seven counts of robbery involving a production of weapons, one theft over $5,000,one possession of stolen property over $5,000 in a three-month crime spree, and Morris was the getaway driver. He was a 23-year-oldheroin addict with five adult convictions. The judge imposed a sentence of five years, however, taking into account the Court'scomments at para. 16 that case is a good example of where the Court of Appeal deferred to the sentencing judge and found that therewere no obvious errors that were made. [52] In R. v.

Furness, 2007 BCCA 492, the accused was being sentenced for 11 counts of robbery over a seven week period of time. He received a seven year sentence. It was reduced to five years on appeal. Just as a further example of the range of possible sentences inthese types of cases, in that case the Crown sought eight years and the defence sought a conditional sentence order. He had a criminalrecord. The Court found that over emphasizing denunciation and deterrence is not appropriate either if there is some promise that aperson can be rehabilitated. [53] In R. v.

Ward, the accused pleaded guilty to five counts of store robberies while brandishing a knife or a syringe, committedduring a 14-day crime spree. He was a 32-year-old heroin addict. He had a criminal record. He received a five year sentence. He hadtold the judge that he wanted a federal sentence. [54] In R. v. McDowell, 2009 BCSC 1912, involving three counts of robbery and one count of assault during a month long crimespree. The accused was a 44-year-old cocaine addict. He had a criminal record although there was a 13-year gap in that record.

Hiseffective sentence was for five years. [55] Also, I have been given a couple of cases with respect to the issue of consecutive and concurrent sentences. [56] Mr. Rowan for the defence submits that given the circumstances of this case, a sentence of one year's incarceration is sufficientto meet all the objectives of sentencing. [57] I should note that Mr. Lim is not eligible for a conditional sentence order due to the operation of s. 742.1 of the Criminal Code. [58] Mr.

Rowan submits that the range of sentence in these circumstances is more in the range of three months to four years. [59] It is suggested that but for Mr. Lim's foray into this methamphetamine binge, he would not be in this situation. There is a letterfrom John McNeil, who is a pharmacologist, professor, and Dean emeritus of the faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University ofBritish Columbia having worked there for 39 years. [60] In his letter, Mr.

McNeil talks about the effects of methamphetamines ingestion and after reviewing the police report found thatif he took into account the ingestion of the methamphetamines by Mr. Lim of such a high dose that very negative effects could beexpected.

[61] There is no real surprise in that conclusion, but the negative effects he has listed in his report include things like intense euphoria,hyperactivity, rapid flight of ideas, obsessive compulsive activity, thought blending, scattered disorganized thought, paranoia, anxiety,irritability, aggressiveness, insolent erratic behaviour, delusions, hallucinations, irrational behaviour and violence, risk-taking, erraticdriving, it can precipitate or induce psychosis. There could be feelings of increased physical and mental prowess and elevated self-esteem.

He says that people who take these kinds of drugs are more likely to be aggressive and violent than non-drug users or peopleusing other drugs of abuse except alcohol. [62] Mr. McNeil says given that Mr. Lim had not previously exhibited aggressiveness and violent tendencies, and given thatmethamphetamine in high doses can produce these effects even in individuals who have not exhibited them previously, he thinks it isprobable that the ingestion of the methamphetamine contributed to the behaviour of Mr. Lim of which I have no doubt.

The question isto what extent and that is the more difficult question. [63] There is also a report that was provided to me from Dr. Paul Janke, a well-respected forensic psychiatrist who assessed Mr. Lim. He had a chance to talk with Mr. Lim and to review the case and provide an opinion. [64] One of Dr. Janke's obvious conclusions was that the crimes themselves were very poorly thought out. He does note that Mr.

Limwas clearly aware that what he was doing was wrong, and given the level of intoxication and the impact that his gambling addiction hadon him, he was simply not considering the impact of his behaviour on his victims. He indicates that Mr. Lim gives a history of moodswings that appeared to be a pattern in him and his family and that description is consistent with a mild variant of bipolar disorder withepisodes of decreased moods and episodes lasting up to several days of elevated moods. [65] Dr. Janke reports that Mr. Lim met the criteria of substance abuse disorder, that if Mr.

Lim is unsuccessful in controlling hisgambling addiction, he finds that it is more likely than not that at some point he would engage in behaviours to obtain funds given hispast behaviour. [66] In terms of treatment, Dr. Janke concludes that Mr. Lim does require participation in some sort of intensive substance abusetreatment programming. He finds that Mr. Lim would benefit from a more general psychotherapeutic intervention; that he has grown upwith a distorted perception of expectations upon him, and has grown up with a pattern of being deceptive towards those close to him inorder to avoid disappointing them.

If that pattern was to continue, it obviously would set Mr. Lim up for situations in the future wherehe would experience psychological and likely financial pressures that would put him at risk for resumption of either substance abuse orgambling. [67] Dr. Janke also noted that Mr. Lim expressed strong remorse for his actions. I find that Dr.

Janke's report is generally quitebalanced and objective. [68] The defence says that the robberies cannot be characterized as anything but serious, however, they suggest that a sentence in therange of 12 months with a long period of probation following would be appropriate. [69] There are many cases dealing with robbery and violence. I have alluded to some of them. The defence provides a number ofcases in their own casebook. I am not going to refer to all of them except to say that they indicate ranges on the lower end of the scale.

Many of them involve one robbery and that sort of thing but there are some of them that have multiple robberies. [70] The one fairly consistent aspect of most of the cases that were provided to me both by the Crown and the defence is that most ofthe offenders had criminal records. [71] The defence provided the case of R. v. Mantla, (B.C.C.A.). There was one robbery where a sentence of threeyears was reduced to two years. The accused had a prior record. [72] There is the R. v. Priest, (ON CA), [1996] O.J. No. 3369 case which was provided. [73] There is the R. v. Porter, [1996] B.C.J.

No. 266 case which involved one robbery of an elderly woman where a sentence of 18months was imposed. [74] There was R. v. Thompson, 2003 BCCA 308 involving one robbery, and was unique in that the offender did not have a priorrecord. He was sentenced to three months. He used violence to tear a purse away from a woman and then dragged the complainant ashort distance. He was apparently high on cocaine at the time. [75] There is the R. v.

Stroud decision from then Provincial Court Judge Bruce cited at 2005 BCPC 513, There were six counts ofbank robberies without violence that occurred between about a two week period of time in that case. In three of the robberies, theaccused's notes referred to having a weapon, et cetera. The sentence imposed was two years less a day. That person had a record aswell, although a minor record. [76] R. v. D.F.B., 2006 BCCA 350, in which a two year sentence imposed by the trial judge for one robbery of a frail, elderly womanwhich was similar to a purse snatching case. That was upheld by the Court of Appeal.

That offender had 26 prior convictions. [77] There is the case of R. v. Kaler, 2006 BPC 97, a decision of Provincial Court Judge MacLean involving the robbery of an elderlywoman who later died but he was convicted of the robbery only. At para 17, Judge MacLean said: [17] Society has a significant interest in the elderly maintaining their independence in the community, and they must be safe from thistype of criminal behaviour. [78] The offender in Kaler, supra, had 15 prior convictions over the course of two-and-a-half years. He was sentenced to four yearsimprisonment.

[79] There is R. v. Griffiths, 2007 BCSC 220, a purse snatching type of case, where a 41-year-old person with 51 convictions on hisextensive criminal record was sentenced to three years. [80] There is the case of R. v. Dornheim, 2002 BCPC 573, where again there was a violent robbery of an elderly victim. Theoffender had a criminal record as well and was sentenced to eight months. [81] R. v. Ruckman, 2003 BCCA 456, was a case involving robbery of a vulnerable woman. When the victim resisted giving up herpurse, Mr. Ruckman drew a knife and began slashing at her body close to her stomach.

He received originally a three-and-a-half yearsentence which was reduced to two years less a day on appeal. He also had a prior criminal record. [82] I was given some supplemental case book authorities and for the record they are: R. v. Witzke, 2003 BCCA 215; R. v. Gill, 2006BCCA 127; a case called R. v. Bell, 2005 BCCA 403; and there was R. v. Schikowski, 2000 BCCA 136. [83] I have also looked at a case called R. v. Cain, (BC CA), [1993] 28 B.C.A.C. 105.

That really is one of thosecases at the low end of seriousness because the Court found there that where there are real and substantial grounds for believing that anaccused, even someone of previously bad character, has and can effect his own rehabilitation, the Court is entitled to impose in that casea suspended sentence for "note" bank robberies where someone passes a note. There was no violence in that case. But there the accusedhad a horrific record for similar offences and had been in custody for the last 16 of 20 adult years. [84] The high end of the range is in cases like R. v.

Brogan, supra, and a case called R. v. Dodginghorse, 2005 BCCA 479, where aglobal sentence of eight years incarceration was given which was found to be fit for a robbery of a jewellery store in midday armed witha firearm and masked. The offender shot at the owner and his six-year-old son. The owner was pepper-sprayed and beaten. Theappellant was 24 years old, had a lengthy youth record, and was on bail at the time of the offence. [85] What is so difficult is where to try to fit this case in and still take into account and give full effect to all the principles ofsentencing.

Of course society condemns the conduct of Mr. Lim. These were serious crimes with serious consequences. Mr. Lim maynot have anticipated or expected that ingesting methamphetamines would affect him the way it did, but he had to know narcotics likethose do affect judgment and thought processes, and yet he voluntarily ingested them. [86] In the sentence that is going to be imposed, there is a full recognition that the public deserves to be safe from this kind ofconduct.

There is no sentence that will restore the confidence and feelings of security that the victims of these senseless crimes have lostthrough no fault of their own. [87] If Mr. Lim is successful in dealing with his addiction problems and is determined to make the appropriate choices, the public isserved very well, because then the offending behaviour has little chance of reoccurring. [88] Recently, our Court of Appeal in a case called R. v. Kukelka, [2010] B.C.J. No. 922, at para. 19, endorsed the words of JusticeWood in that old case of R. v.

Preston, (BC CA), 47 B.C.L.R. (2d) 273, at p. 282, where he noted that "it was right toconclude that the principle of deterrence should yield to any reasonable chance of rehabilitation which may show itself to the courtimposing sentence". [89] Denunciation and deterrence are of great importance in these kinds of cases. That does not mean, however, that restoration to thecommunity and rehabilitation does not also merit strong consideration.

The balance to be struck is one of the most difficult tasks a judgeis required to engage in. [90] This is not a situation where there is little weight to attach to the prospects of rehabilitation by Mr. Lim. In fact, I find that thereis a significant and very real prospect of rehabilitation, but the public also deserves to be protected as well, so the balance is obviously adifficult one. [91] Dr. Janke concludes there is little risk of re-offending. I found that the risk is very little as Dr. Janke concludes, only if theunderlying addictions of gambling and drug addiction are addressed in a meaningful way.

Clearly there must be a period ofincarceration, but the question is whether a longer period of time in jail is necessary to address the principles of general deterrence anddenunciation. [92] I find that the appropriate balance to be struck in this difficult and tragic case is a sentence that will remove Mr. Lim from societyfor a period of time, longer than that suggested by the defence, but not so long as to destroy any prospect of rehabilitation byinstitutionalizing Mr.

Lim. [93] The word "rehabilitation" itself in my mind is more appropriately used in this unique case than in many others where I believe weoften misuse that term. The term "rehabilitate" means literally to restore to sound condition, as in rebuilding a house or a business or areputation. [94] The efforts of the justice system are often directed at restoring offenders to a healthy condition when in fact there was never ahealthy condition to begin with and that is the difficult part.

More appropriately in those kinds of cases where we are dealing with careercriminals and people that really had no chance from the start we try to reform and change what their original character was. So it is notrehabilitation really at all. [95] Here, I accept however that given all the circumstances of this case that Mr. Lim can be one of those people that can berehabilitated in the classic sense of the word. That being said, my opinion is that the appropriate sentence in this case is two years less aday with the recommendation that he receive treatment for his addictions.

He is going to be removed from society long enough that he isgoing to be involved in a long-term period of incarceration where he can deal with his addictions. That is going to be followed by aperiod of three years probation. [96] The conditions of that three year probationary period are the following:

1. You are going to keep the peace and be of good behaviour, Mr. Lim. 2. You are going to report to a probation officer upon your release and thereafter as directed by the probation officer. 3. You are going to provide your residential address to your probation officer and not change that address without the prior written permission of the probation officer. 4. You are to have no contact, direct or indirect, with any of the individuals that are named in the Information. 5.

You are not to attend at any place of residence, school or place of employment of any of those individuals that you have become aware of from time to time. 6. You must not have in your possession any weapons as defined by the Criminal Code including any knives unless for the immediate preparation or consumption of food or during the course of lawful employment. 7. For that three year period, you must abstain absolutely from the consumption and possession of alcohol or any drugs as defined in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for which you do not have a prescription. 8.

You are to attend for, accept and complete any such counselling and programs as directed by your probation officer including but not limited to drug abuse, substance abuse counselling or residential treatment programs if deemed necessary and you are to complete that counselling or programs to the reasonable satisfaction of your probation officer. 9. You are to seek and maintain employment or attend any such educational programs as directed by your probation officer. 10. You are not to attend any establishment that holds a licence allowing gambling. 11.

You are not to attend any establishment that holds a license excluding persons under the age of 19 years. [SUBMISSIONS BY COUNSEL] 12. You are to perform 200 community work service hours at the direction of your probation officer and to the satisfaction of your probation officer, to be done within the first 30 months of the probation order. [ 97 ] The other orders that are necessary are: pursuant to s. 109(2) (

b) of the Criminal Code , there is a lifetime prohibition from possessing any of the items listed in that section. [ 98 ] There is an order under s. 487.051 that you provide a sample of your DNA for all of the counts as they are primary designated offences. [ 99 ] There is a forfeiture order under s. 490.1(1) (

a) of the Criminal Code that all property related to the offences Mr. Lim pleaded guilty to, shall be forfeited to Her Majesty in Right of British Columbia. [ 100 ] Under the circumstances, I am going to waive the victim fine surcharge. Mr. Lim will not be earning any income for a period of time. [ 101 ] Under s. 743.2, my reasons should be given to Correctional Services. (ORAL REASONS FOR SENTENCE CONCLUDED)