A chronically-ill Queensland man, who is sleeping on a prison floor while waiting to appeal his fraud and insolvent trading conviction, has been denied bail.
Kleenmaid founder Andrew Eric Young, 66, was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment after he was found guilty of 19 charges following the collapse of the national white goods distributor.
These include dishonestly gaining a $13 million loan from Westpac and transferring $330,000 from the company's bank account in the days before administrators were called in.
Young applied for release in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday, saying the Woodford Correctional Centre was too dangerous during the coronavirus crisis.
The court heard he is sleeping on a mattress in a communal area at the jail due to a lack of beds, but was eligible to apply for his own cell due to his ongoing heart condition.
"The potential here, which is far from speculative, is that there will be an outbreak of COVID-19 in the prison," his lawyer Sault Holt QC said.
"If there is, then the likelihood is that it will spread far and fast, and if it does then there is a risk he will suffer severe health outcomes, including the risk of death."
In denying bail, Justice Anne Lyon said she accepted Young suffered from significant coronary artery disease and would potentially be at risk of complications if he contracted coronavirus.
"Cardiac complications following COVID-19 infections can be quite devastating in the over 60s, particularly those with underlying cardiac pathology," she said quoting his doctor.
But she said Queensland Corrective Services had taken significant steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 should an outbreak occur in the prison system.
All new inmates must undergo 14-day isolation before being released into the prison population and there was increased cleaning occurring, she said.
"As things currently stand, the evidence before me indicates there is no COVID-19 prisoner in any correctional facility (and) there are no prisoners who have been diagnosed," she said.
Justice Lyon said if there was an outbreak, prison authorities would go to stage four restrictions to prevent its spread.
"It was successfully implemented on March 26 when a prison officer at (Wolston Correctional Centre) tested positive," she said.
"As things currently stand I cannot ascertain Mr Young is any particular danger."
She refused Young's application for bail pending appeal.
Australian Associated Press
