Abandoned asbestos lands fines on Hanna
A New South Wales man has been charged for illegally dumping eight truckloads of toxic building materials.
Dib Hanna was caught camera in April 2012 dumping two tonnes of asbestos-laced material on vacant land next to two preschools in Sydney’s south-west.
Hanna pleaded guilty to four offences and was fined $225,000. He has also been ordered to pay the Bankstown City Council’s legal costs and foot the bill for notices detailing his offences to be published in newspapers.
But it was not the first time Dib Hanna has been caught dumping the cancer-causing material in public.
The dodgy contractor has existing fines for failing to comply with orders about illegal dumping.
In the latest trial, the court heard that Hanna is paying his previous off hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines at a rate of $300 a month through the New South Wales Debt Recovery Office.
At the current rate, his fines will not be paid off until 2072.
Chief justice of the NSW Land and Environment Court Brian Preston said that Hanna’s history of dumping toxic waste was behind a substantial increase in the penalties previously imposed.
“Mr Hanna is a persistent offender who has not been deterred in the past by the penalties and sentences imposed for prior offences,” Chief Justice Preston said.
Hanna did not appear for the sentencing.