A man who fled interstate days before learning his fate for killing an off-duty paramedic risks being deported once he’s released from prison.
Mingen was out on bail when he failed to appear at Victoria County Court for sentencing on Thursday.
He was arrested in Queensland and brought back to Victoria on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old had pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving resulting in the death of Pauline Smith in a crash in May 2022.
Ms Smith, a paramedic and former police officer, was heading home after a night shift when she veered into the wrong lane on the Western Highway in the regional Victoria town of Great Western.
The Chinese national was sentenced on Wednesday to two years and four months in prison with a non-parole period of 16 months.
He had been driving erratically, turning left and right on the road and speeding up and slowing down as he headed to work on the morning of May 20, 2022, Judge Kellie Blair said.
In the moments before the collision, He was driving at about 99 km/h when his car left the road while cornering before overcorrecting and losing control, crashing into the mother-of-three’s car.
A 25-year-old Chinese national has been sentenced to at least 16 months in prison after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of paramedic Pauline Smith (pictured).
Ms Smith died at the scene from her injuries.
“Your poor driving prior to the collision in a 100 kilometer zone and your failure to stop or take corrective action increase the seriousness of your offence,” Judge Blair said.
“I do not consider this to be a case of momentary inattention, but rather a serious example of the crime of dangerous driving causing death.”
Drug and alcohol tests were performed at the scene, which came back negative.
Defense lawyer Amit Malik said on Wednesday he had left Victoria and traveled to Queensland to work as a plasterer for four or five months so he could leave money for his family before returning to surrender and serve his jail sentence.
The crown prosecutor said He’s decision to abscond was indicative of an attempt to thwart rather than facilitate the course of justice.
“While the criminal’s motivations were altruistic in terms of financial support for his family, it must be considered that he had been prosecuted, told that a prison sentence was inevitable and then fled,” the prosecutor said.
He believed he could earn more than $40,000 and was arrested by police at a shared house where officers found his brother-in-law’s work permit in his possession, the defense said.
Mingen was driving at about 99 km/h when his car left the road and collided with that of the mother of three (pictured).
Pauline Smith’s death caused deep and profound grief to her family, the court heard on Wednesday.
“He intended to return to Victoria after working in Queensland to provide a safety net for his family and was not an attempt to avoid a prison sentence,” Malik said.
Judge Blair acknowledged that He’s decision to abscond exacerbated the pain felt by Mrs Smith’s family, who had to appear in court twice.
“Pauline Smith’s death has caused deep and profound grief to her family and all those who knew and loved her,” he said.
“By effectively shirking his responsibilities to the court, it diminishes the weight I can give to his acceptance of responsibility for his wrongdoing and therefore the true level of his remorse.”
On the date of his initial sentencing the court was told that He’s wife reported him missing on November 25 after not seeing him for two days.
He had surrendered his passport and was supposed to report to police three times a week, but had not done so during the week he disappeared, prosecutors said at the time.
Having already spent 65 days in pre-trial detention, the judge recognized a doctor’s opinion that he suffers from depression and anxiety that would likely be worsened in prison.
The 25-year-old, who has been in Australia since 2018, faces deportation once he is released and forfeited $10,000 bail due to his disappearance.