...across the U.S. border, that is.
Smuggling verdict against Vancouver man a $5,000 boost to Calgary food bank
By Daryl Slade, Calgary HeraldSeptember 29, 2009 10:31 AM
The fine for a failed bid to smuggle top-of-the-line wine into Alberta will help feed Calgary's hungry.
Delbert Synn Yap, a Vancouver businessman, was ordered on Monday to pay$5,000 to the Calgary Inter-Faith Food Bank for smuggling 329 bottles of vintage vino into Canada. He will avoid a criminal record.
Provincial court Judge Sean Dunnigan said he was lenient only because of Yap's lack of prior criminal record and the fact he already paid the maximum $25,000 administrative fee for undervaluing the wine. He had undervalued the $57,847 load by $44,591.
The full amount must be paid before the end of the six-month probation period to make it an absolute discharge.
"I regard this as a relatively serious case of smuggling. This isn't a six-pack of Stroh's beer on the way back from Great Falls. Neither is it a cheap pair of Nikes from the outlet mall in Vegas," said Dunnigan.
"It was a planned subterfuge with the expressed purpose of avoiding $3,800 of duty on very expensive wine most of the public doesn't have the privilege of tasting."
Some bottles the judge mentioned in his ruling are listed on the Internet at $600 each.
Dunnigan also noted that the offender forfeited the smuggled bottles of wine. They were poured down the drain by Canadian Border Services Agency personnel.
Yap was caught Oct. 14,2006, when he crossed back into Canada at the Coutts port of entry.
"We're extremely honoured, actually," said James McAra, the food bank CEO. "It's like turning wine into food . . . a $5,000 donation will go a long way. This will help look after the most vulnerable. We're appreciative of the benefits this can do for the community, as opposed to just being a penalty."
Crown prosecutor Randy Gass had argued that the 42-year-old, who pleaded guilty to one count of smuggling, should have a criminal record for the offence.
But the judge felt the penalty was appropriate.
Defence lawyer Alain Hepner's had sought a conditional discharge and the charitable donation.
Court heard Yap had Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission permission to import large quantities of wine from the United States for personal use, in this case 896 bottles, but undervalued the shipment by about 80 per cent.
Dunnigan said Yap is otherwise an upstanding member of the community.
"This offence . . . appears to be out of character and an aberration for an individual who has imported wines in the past without transgressing the law," he said.
Two other charges were withdrawn against Yap and all three charges were dropped against co-accused Thomas O'Neill.
