Saturday, June 05, 2004
Sex slave trial update
After originally being scheduled for September 2003, the trial of Melbourne’s Wei Tang, her husband John Davies, Paul Pick and Donporn Srimonthon has finally commenced.
In a rare instance of first-hand reportage by this blog, I can state that Tang and Davies moved out of their home (which was also the domicile of the alleged slaves) at 27 Rae Street, North Fitzroy in late 2003, after which a “For Lease” sign went up. Prior to this, mail built up at the premises’ letterbox for a considerable period. Therefore, I’d be surprised if Tang is indeed still “of North Fitzroy”, as this report claims.
While the trial is still in its early days, it has already seen one significant development: the withdrawal of all (5) sex-slavery charges against Davies, leaving him facing just one count of perverting the course of justice.
Otherwise, the 50 y.o. Davies seems to have remained on board as a senior executive at the Australian Taxation Office throughout the last year.
While Davies and his wife are entitled to a presumption of innocence at this stage, I find it remarkable that the ATO stillhas not a batted an eyelid over a fact that is not in any dispute – this holder of a very sensitive public office is married to a licensed (= “legal”) brothel-keeper. Which is itself no crime, of course.
However, given the milieu that Davies would inevitably be mixing in as a result of his wife’s position (quite apart from the current charges), his ongoing tenure at the ATO suggests that senior executives being socially associated with the criminal underworld is seen to be nothing out of the ordinary for and by that organisation.
After originally being scheduled for September 2003, the trial of Melbourne’s Wei Tang, her husband John Davies, Paul Pick and Donporn Srimonthon has finally commenced.
In a rare instance of first-hand reportage by this blog, I can state that Tang and Davies moved out of their home (which was also the domicile of the alleged slaves) at 27 Rae Street, North Fitzroy in late 2003, after which a “For Lease” sign went up. Prior to this, mail built up at the premises’ letterbox for a considerable period. Therefore, I’d be surprised if Tang is indeed still “of North Fitzroy”, as this report claims.
While the trial is still in its early days, it has already seen one significant development: the withdrawal of all (5) sex-slavery charges against Davies, leaving him facing just one count of perverting the course of justice.
Otherwise, the 50 y.o. Davies seems to have remained on board as a senior executive at the Australian Taxation Office throughout the last year.
While Davies and his wife are entitled to a presumption of innocence at this stage, I find it remarkable that the ATO stillhas not a batted an eyelid over a fact that is not in any dispute – this holder of a very sensitive public office is married to a licensed (= “legal”) brothel-keeper. Which is itself no crime, of course.
However, given the milieu that Davies would inevitably be mixing in as a result of his wife’s position (quite apart from the current charges), his ongoing tenure at the ATO suggests that senior executives being socially associated with the criminal underworld is seen to be nothing out of the ordinary for and by that organisation.
