Man who murdered his National Zoo co-worker wins slight sentence reduction
A man who murdered his colleague at Canberra's National Zoo and Aquarium has had three and a half years shaved off his 30-year sentence after an appeal.
Jude Wijesinghe, who was convicted of fatally stabbing his colleague Tshewang Choden at Canberra's National Zoo and Aquarium in 2023, has had his sentence reduced by three and a half years and the non-parole period reduced by two years. Initially, he was sentenced to 30 years in jail, with 20 years before eligibility for parole.
However, the ACT Supreme Court Chief Justice Lucy McCallum deemed the attack as premeditated and murderous violence, acknowledging his mental illness as an explanation for the murder but not reducing the overall sentence due to the serious nature of the offence. Wijesinghe appealed, arguing that the court did not adequately consider his mental impairment during the punishment determination.
The ACT Court of Appeal, consisting of Justice Darryl Rangiah, Justice Andrew Muller, and Justice Jon White, has now set aside the original sentence, imposing a term of 26 years and six months, with Wijesinghe's non-parole period reduced to 18 years. This means he will be eligible for release in 2041 instead of 2043. The reasons for the Court of Appeal's decision have not been published.
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