Disgraced former deputy mayor Salim Mehajer learns fate over staged car crash

Former politician and property developer Salim Mehajer has escaped the extra-long prison sentence he was given after being convicted of a bizarre staged car crash in an attempt to avoid a court appearance.

Mehajer, 38, appeared in Sydney’s Downing Center District Court on Tuesday with his legal team, including lawyer Zawat Zreika, to be sentenced for the choreographed crash, as he finally learned when he will be available for release from prison.

Mehajer entered guilty pleas in July to 22 charges, including perverting the course of justice, making a false statement resulting in a police investigation, making a false ambulance call and negligent driving.

He admitted staging the car crash in Sydney’s west in October 2017, with the court hearing Mehajer orchestrated the incident in an attempt to delay his court appearance for an unrelated criminal case for assault from a taxi driver.

His Mercedes was involved in an accident with a Mitsubishi Outlander at the intersection of Nicholas and Delhi streets in Lidcombe, with television crews at the scene capturing Mehajer being carried into an ambulance with his neck in a brace.

He was due to attend a hearing at Sydney’s Downing Center Local Court that day, at which his lawyer would provide a medical certificate, delaying the case for three months.

He had claimed the Outlander failed to yield the right of way at the intersection, but forensic investigations revealed irregularities that contradicted Mehajer’s version of the accident.

Judge Warwick Hunt described the plan as “unsophisticated” and noted that it did not result in Mehajer escaping a hearing; it was previously postponed until early next year.

Television crews on the scene filmed Mehajer (pictured) as he was carried into an ambulance with his neck in a brace after the car crash in October 2017

“It was not likely that the acts carried out to pervert the course of justice were intended, or could have brought, to a final conclusion the related legal proceedings,” Judge Hunt said.

Mehajer also pleaded guilty to dealing with identity information to commit a crime in which he falsely identified other people as drivers involved in traffic violations.

The court ruled that Mehajer was not the driver in all incidents.

The charges were the last criminal cases for which Mehajer was awaiting sentencing.

He was sentenced by Judge Hunt on Tuesday to a maximum of two years for the offences, with a non-parole period of 16 months.

It means his earliest release date for these cases was December 14 this year.

It won’t matter much, though, since Auburn’s former deputy mayor is already in prison after being found guilty in separate trials of unrelated fraud and domestic violence charges in the middle of last year.

In a ruling by Judge James Bennett earlier this year, Mehajer was sentenced to a maximum of seven years and nine months in prison.

Mehajer (pictured) was sentenced to up to two years behind bars after pleading guilty in July to 22 charges, including making a false call for an ambulance and negligent driving

He was convicted concurrently of both fraud and domestic violence and was given a three-and-a-half year non-parole period.

Following these sentencing proceedings, his earliest possible release date was set for July next year.

Mehajer has now been in custody since November 2020 when he was convicted of two counts of perverting the course of justice and one count of making a false statement under oath.

Judge Hunt noted that Mehajer had endured harsh conditions in prison, having served much of his sentence during the Covid-19 pandemic.

And he said Mehajer had good prospects for rehabilitation, noting that he was a man of considerable intelligence and resources.

“If he can once again use his abilities for good rather than evil, he will live a successful life,” Judge Hunt said.