A former high-profile real estate agent turned to selling drugs after a business opportunity and his marriage collapsed.
The fall of Peter John Yeh, 60, was cemented after he sold 2 grams of ice to an undercover police officer for $800, the Queenland Supreme Court heard on Wednesday.
The court heard Yeh had worked for estate agents in some of Brisbane’s most expensive suburbs, including Ray White Paddington, Harcourts in Bulimba and LJ Hooker in Coorparoo.
Judge Michael Copley said the father-of-two had a good employment history until 2017, when his father-in-law failed in a deal to give him control of the LJ Hooker Cooparoo business.
After this, Yeh’s marriage to his second wife broke down and his former recreational drug use became a full-blown addiction, which he then fueled by selling drugs on the street.
“It is a tragedy to see a man in his 50s in possession of small quantities of these drugs… who decided, due to the effects of addiction, that the way to solve his problem is to buy and sell drugs as a business” , stated the judge. Copley said.
The fall of Peter John Yeh, 60, was cemented after he sold 2 grams of ice to an undercover police officer for $800, the Queenland Supreme Court heard on Wednesday.
Yeh pleaded guilty to trafficking the drugs ice and gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) between September 3, 2021 and June 23, 2022.
Some of the drug trafficking crimes occurred while he was on probation, the mail reported.
The court heard Yeh had about 70 clients in inner-city Brisbane and used the encrypted messaging app Signal and regular text messages to arrange drug sales and follow up on debts.
A typical deal would involve selling 3.5g of ice for $1,100 and he would sell up to 200ml of GHB in a single exchange.
The prosecutor said they did not have the exact amount he had earned selling the drugs, but that he collected $174,562 in “unexplained income” while on Jobseeker.
His defense attorney, Elliot Boddice, said Yeh had since overcome his drug addiction.
He said psychologist Peter Stoker confirmed Yeh suffered from depression and methamphetamine dependence disorder when he sold the drugs.
‘He understood that the father promised to sell him (LJ Hooker Coorparoo’s) business, that didn’t happen.’ he said.
He then went to work for Harcourts in Bulimba and fights with his wife escalated, leading to the collapse of the marriage, he said.
The court heard Yeh had worked for estate agents in some of Brisbane’s most expensive suburbs, including Ray White Paddington, Harcourts in Bulimba and LJ Hooker in Coorparoo.
“He previously used drugs recreationally and starting in 2017, following that personal stress, his drug use got out of control.”
Yeh pleaded guilty to several drug charges, including trafficking, two counts of supply and possession of 1-4-butanediol, a chemical precursor to GHB.
He was sentenced to four years in prison for the trafficking charge and received another month for possession of drug paraphernalia.
Judge Copley said the 505 days he had already served would count towards his sentence and he would be eligible to apply for parole from Wednesday.
