Courts / Dublin / Report

Eight-year sentence for Chinese father who worked at cannabis growhouse

Date
2014-12-13

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

Sheng Dong Pan, 31, a Chinese father of two, was sentenced by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to eight years in prison, with the final four years suspended. He pleaded guilty to cultivating cannabis after being apprehended by Gardaí at a Clondalkin Industrial Estate unit that contained €725,828 worth of cannabis. Pan had been working as a gardener at the growhouse, initially hired as a chef, and claimed he did not realise the plants were cannabis. Gardaí found over 16,000 g of cannabis material and 496 plants. Pan, who has no fixed abode and had a skin condition, was noted to have no prior convictions and had endured hardship as a foreign national in custody. Judge Patricia Ryan imposed the sentence, suspended the last four years, and ordered Pan to keep the peace for three years upon release, back‑dating the sentence to 23 July 2013.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Eight-year sentence for Chinese father who worked at cannabis growhouse. Charges or matters: cultivating cannabis on July 23, 2013. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

July 23, 2013 Incident
2014-12-13 Publication

Case subjects

Sheng Dong Pan

Convicted Person

Charges: cultivating cannabis on July 23, 2013 (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: Judge Patricia Ryan sentenced Pan to eight years in prison but suspended the final four years, taking into account that he had no previous convictions and has endured the hardship of being a foreign national while in custody. She backdated the sentence to July 23, 2013, when Pan was taken into custody.