J U D G M E N T

1. MR JUSTICE JACK: On 6th July 2005 at the Crown Court at Croydon, the applicant, Anthonie Trabisohn, admitted failing to surrender to bail and was sentenced to three months' imprisonment.

2. The circumstances which led to that are as follows. He faced a charge of assaulting God-Given Trabisohn causing her actual bodily harm, on 21st March 2005. He faced a second charge that on 27th March he made threats to kill Patricia Sery and a third charge of intimidating Patricia Sery as a witness, on 27th March.

3. On 23rd May application was made to His Honour Judge Joseph to vary bail to permit the appellant to attend ceremonies following his father's death in Africa where the death of his father had occurred. Judge Joseph was plainly anxious to ensure that if the appellant went to Africa he would return. He, therefore, made it a condition of the variAtion of bail that £5,000 security should be provided.

4. Miss Penny, who has appeared for the appellant today, has told us that he was a man living on benefits and he had no means of raising the £5,000. She has said also that it was a matter of considerable duty and honour to the appellant that he should be present at those ceremonies.

5. On 2nd June 2005 there was a further application regarding the bail which came before His Honour Judge Waller to change the address at which the appellant was to reside within the jurisdiction. There was no problem as to that.

6. The next event was that on 24th June there was a plea and directions hearing. The appellant did not attend because he was in Africa. The ceremonies to which we have referred took place, apparently, on 26th July. On 29th July the appellant flew back to England and went immediately to the Crown Court where he surrendered himself. He was sentenced on that day.

7. The appellant is a man of good character and is now aged 37 years old.

8. The aggravating feature of the case, and it is a matter of serious aggravation, is that the appellant's absence was intentional and in defiance of the court's order refusing to vary his bail unless the security was provided. It is a mitigating feature that he did so because of the ceremonies in the Ivory Coast relating to his late father and essential duty, as he saw it, to attend. It is also a substantial mitigating feature that on his return he went straight to the court and surrendered himself.

9. We consider that in these unusual circumstances a sentence of six weeks would have been sufficient. The appeal is to that extent allowed.