This case involved charges of possession of abalone against an accused who was alleged to have purchased it from a known abalone poacher who had previously plead guilty to charges of abalone poaching and been sentenced on a joint submission basis after assuring the Crown that he would fully co-operate with the Crown with respect to the prosecution of others involved in the venture. His sentence did not include any jail time and his fine of $25,000 (payable at $5,000 per year) was only half of the $50,000 fine that a co-accused received. In addition, charges against his wife were not proceeded with, proceeds of crime charges were not proceeded with and income tax charges were not proceeded with.
At trial, the Crown’s main source of evidence was from the testimony of the abalone poacher. The accused was called to the stand and denied having purchased any abalone and further denied that abalone found in a freezer at her father’s house, where she did not live, belonged to her.
Based upon the courts review of the evidence and the cases of Vetrovic v. The Queen (1982), 67 C.C.C. (2d) 1 and R v. W.(D)., [1991] 1 S.C.R. 742, the court was unable to find sufficient corroborative evidence to support a conviction.