Defence lawyer Robert Steward rejected police suggestions that his client, 22-year-old Hung Manh Ngo, posed a significant risk of fleeing the country if released on bail given Ngo’s current political status.

“He and his family were involved in political protests against the communist regime in Vietnam,” Mr Steward said in explaining the reason his client came to Australia in February 2014. 

“He’s on a bridging visa seeking refugee status. It would be illogical for him to flee the country in which he’s trying to seek asylum.”

Court documents said police received a tip-off last Friday about suspected drug activity at a house on Cabbage Tree Lane in Fairy Meadow, prompting them to carry out surveillance on the property.

They claim Ngo and his co-accused, Vu Dang Hong Pham, were recorded entering the house just after 3pm on June 25.

Officers swooped on the property an hour later and arrested both men. It is alleged Ngo told police there were 43 cannabis plants inside the home immediately upon his arrest.

A further search of a nearby property in Hercules Street, Wollongong, the following day netted another hydroponic setup boasting 145 cannabis plants.

In court on Wednesday, police claimed they had a strong case against Ngo and urged the court to refuse his bail application.

However, Mr Steward suggested the case was “fundamentally flawed”, saying there was no evidence before the court that Ngo had ever tended to the plants in Cabbage Tree Lane or even knew about the second grow house in Hercules Street.

“The only evidence we have at the moment is he’s been to the Fairy Meadow premises once,” Mr Steward said.

However, Magistrate Susan McGowan rejected Mr Steward’s dismissive summary of the evidence and refused to release Ngo.

“I don’t agree it’s a hopeless case,” she said.

“The most significant bail concern at this stage is him fleeing the jurisdiction.”

Ngo and Pham will both remain in custody to reappear in court on August 29.