2C.L.R. 1987October30 (TRIANTAFYLLIDES,Ρ LORIS,STYLIANIDES,JJ] ARAXIE KRIKORPAREKIAN, Appellant, ν THE REPUBLIC, Respondent (Cnminal Appeal No 5 4874) Sentence — Possessingnarcotic drugs(1210 gramsof heroin)for the purpose of supplying them to anotherperson inSpam — Fouryears impnsonment — Appellant,a Lebanese woman, the mother of threeminor children — New factsrelatingto her family circumstancescame tolightaftersentence — Such new factsjustify reduction of sentence to three years and three months impnsonment The appellant was arrested while on her way to Spain She had m her possession the aforesaid quantity of heroin The appellant is a Lebanese woman with three minorchildren 10 15 20 25 The social investigation report thatwas placed before the trial Court was not complete The revised report,placed before this Court,showed thatthe husband of the appellant has suffered a heart attack as aresult of her plight after she was arrested inCyprus and is notinaposition towork andthatthe father of theappellant, who, according tothefirst social investigation report would be looking after the children of the appellant, while she would be serving her pnson sentence here, is an elderly man with severe health problems andneedstobe looked after by hiswife Held,allowingthe appeal
(1)Depnvation of the children of the appellant of the care of their mother due to her impnsonment is not a reason for reducingthesentencepassed ontheappellant,because,nomatterhowmuch the children of the appellant willsuffer, children'and grown ups all over the world are bound tosuffer muchmoreifpersons such as theappellant arenot deterredbyseveresentencesfrom embarking ontrafficking of narcoticdrugs
(2)This Courthas tospeculate as what thetnalCourtwould have done, if the correct social investigation report had been placed before it The appellant should be given the benefit of the doubt The sentence will be reduced tooneof imprisonmentfor threeyears and threemonths Appealallowed 223 Parekian v. Republic
(1987)Casesreferred to Sultan ν TheRepublic
(1983)2 CLR 121 El Etn ν TheRepublic
(1985)2 CLR 40 Zrekav TheRepublic
(1986)2 C L R 134 Appeal against sentence. 5 Appeal against sentence by Araxie Knkor Parekian who was convicted on the 12th May, 1987 at theAssizeCourtof Lamaca (Criminal Case No 3857/87) on one count of the offence of possessing narcoticdrugs contrarytosections2,3,6{1)
(2),30 and 31 of theNarcotic Drugsand Psychotropic Substances Law, 1977 10 {Law No 29 of 1977) (as amended by Law 67/83) and was sentenced by Papadopoulos, ΡDC ,Eliades andArestis, DJJ to four years' impnsonment Ph Clendes, for the appellant A Μ Angehdes, Senior Counsel of the Republic, for the 15 respondents TRIANTAFYLLIDES Ρ gave the following judgment of the Court The appellant, a Lebanese citizen, was sentenced, on 12 May 1987, tofour years' impnsonment,onherown plea of guilty, forthe offence ofpossessingnarcoticdrugs, namely 1210 gramsof 20 heroin,for thepurpose ofsupplying ittoanotherperson inSpain At the time when she was arrested at Lamaca Airport she was actually on her way from Cyprus to Spam via Athens, having arrived on thesame day by ship from Lebanon Sheimmediatelygaveafull statementtothePolicedisclosing all 25 the details of how she came to be involved in the commission of this crime We have heard carefully learned counsel for the appellant and for he respondent Neitherof them minimizestheseventy of the offence which theappellant has committedand there is no doubt 30 thatthe courts inCyprus have adutybothtothepeople of Cyprus and, within the context of the comity of nations,tothepeoples of other countnesaswell,topunishseverelyoffences oftrafficking in narcotic drugs irrespective of whether such drugs are being brought to Cyprus for use here or are being taken to another 35 country via Cyprus 224 2 C.L.R. 5 Parekian v. Republic Triantafyllides P. The case-law of this Court (see, inter aha, Sultan ν The Republic,
(1983)2 C LR 121, El-Etn ν The Republic,
(1985)2 C LR 40 andZrekaν TheRepublic,
(1986)2C LR 134) leaves no room for doubt or hesitation inthis respect and unfortunately, judging from the cases which have been coming recently before our courtsitseems thattheoffences of trafficking innarcotic drugs are becoming even more frequent, thus making necessary even more severe sentences Learned counsel for the appellant has stressed that the 10 appellant isa motherof three children,two of whom are of rather young age, and has argued that as a result of the incarceration of the appellant her children, who are in Lebanon, have been deprived of the maternal care which the appellant, a marned woman forty-one years old, would have bestowed onthem 15 The appellant appears to have been a good mother and housewife who has known better days and has been recently suffering financial pnvations due to the calamity that befell Lebanon Unfortunately in a case of this nature we cannot treat the 20 depnvation of the children of the appellant of the care of their mother due to her impnsonment as a reason for reducing the sentence passed on the appellant, because no matterhow much the children of the appellant willsuffer as a result of the sentence passed on her, children and grown ups all over the world are 25 boundtosuffer muchmoreifpersonssuch astheappellantar^not deterred by severe sentences from embarking on nefanous errands of narcoticdrugs trafficking Thereis,however, anaspectof thiscase which hasgivenusalot of concern and this is the fact thatthe social investigation report 30 which was placed before the tnal court was incomplete in some respects and misleading in other respects, due apparently to the difficulties of thewalfare officer, who prepared it, tocommunicate adequately with sources in Lebanon from which he had toobtain relevant information 35 It is, indeed, very gratifying that the same welfare officer has prepared and placed before us a revised report We, thus, know now thatthe husband of theappellant has suffered a heart attack as a result of herplight after she was arrested inCyprus andisnot in a position to work and this is not mentioned at all in the first 225 Triantafyllides P. Parekian v. Republic
(1987)social investigation report; and the father of the appellant, who, according to the first social investigation report would be looking after the children ofthe appellant whileshe would be serving her prison sentence here, is,as there appears from the second such report, an elderly man with severe health problems and needs to 5 be looked after byhiswife. We are faced, therefore, with a situation in which we have to speculate regarding what thetrial court would have done ifithad thesecond, correct, social investigation report before itatthetime whenitpassedsentenceupontheappellant.Weareboundtogive 10 totheappellant inthisrespectthebenefit ofanydoubtinthesense that we have to lean to the side of leniency in her favour and impose on her a sentence of less severity which the trial Court might justifiably, in our opinion, have imposed if it had before it thecorrectsocialinvestigationreport. 15 Making every possible allowance infavour of theappellant we do not think that itwould have been warranted for the trial court toimposeonherasentence ofimprisonmentforapenodlessthan three years and three months, even if it had before it the social investigation report which isnow before us. 20 We, therefore, reduce accordingly the sentence passed on the appellant and thisappeal isallowedtothat extent. Appeal allowed. 226