Former NSW Labor minister Eddie Obeid has entered a Sydney jail after a judge dismissed his application for permanent bail made on COVID-19 grounds.
Key points:
- Obeid left his mansion in Hunters Hill this morning
- He was yesterday ordered to arrive at Silverwater prison by 10am
- A man who accompanied Obeid said the 77-year-old maintained his innocence
Obeid, 77, was on Thursday given a minimum sentence of three years and 10 months for conspiring over a coal licence for his family farm in the Bylong Valley, when his Labor colleague Ian Macdonald was resources minister.
The rigged tender gave the Obeid family a $30 million windfall.
Macdonald, 72, was jailed for at least five years and three months and Obeid's son Moses, 53, was jailed for at least three years.
Eddie Obeid, however, was allowed to return to his Hunters Hill home after his lawyer complained that because of his serious health issues he could contract COVID-19.
Justice Elizabeth Fullerton refused the disgraced former minister's application for permanent bail until his appeal hearing, stating there were no "exceptional circumstances" that warranted it.
She told Eddie Obeid he did not have to go to the Surry Hills Police Centre to be processed, but must go straight to Silverwater Jail with his solicitor by 10am on Saturday.
This morning, Eddie Obeid was seen in a mask departing from his mansion in Sydney's lower north shore in a white Land Rover Discovery.
About 25 minutes later he arrived at Silverwater Correctional facility, in Western Sydney, to begin serving his sentence.
A man who accompanied the 77-year-old said Obeid would maintain his innocence, but declined to comment further.
The former Labor power broker, his son and Macdonald have appealed their convictions.
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2021-10-22 23:44:37Z
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