A cumulative sentence for failing to appear in accordance with a bail undertaking must reflect the circumstances of that specific offence and cannot be inflated to achieve an otherwise appropriate global sentence. Where the offender has a limited history of failing to appear, provided an explanation, and voluntarily surrendered in a timely fashion, a six-month cumulative sentence on a maximum of two years is manifestly excessive. The appropriate course is to increase the head sentence on the most serious offence to reflect the totality of offending rather than impose a disproportionate cumulative sentence on a lesser offence.
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