Chief Justice Helen Murrell ordered Luoc Quang Pham, 52, serve the first six months of the 27 month jail term behind bars.

But the judge suspended the remainder of the sentence upon Pham entering a two year behaviour order on his release in July.

Pham, of Flynn, pleaded guilty in the ACT Supreme Court to cultivating a commercial quantity of cannabis over a four-month period between August and November 2010.

The court heard electrical workers called the authorities after they found irregularities at the home while conducting routine maintenance.

A police raid uncovered a “sophisticated cannabis growing enterprise” inside the four bedroom, two storey house.

A total of 254 cannabis plants were seized in the operation, with 104 plants found growing in a three-car garage, and the remaining 150 in growing rooms.

The court heard other items seized during the raid included plant food, growth stimulant, a complex lighting system, and 70 transformers to power the lighting, ducting and ventilation systems.

The power supply had been altered to bypass the meter box.

Police also discovered fingerprints and DNA matching the offender.

Police then raided Pham’s Flynn home, seizing identity documents that matched photocopies found at the Melba growhouse.

The court heard the father-of-two was the only person charged in relation to the growhouse, despite evidence others had visited the property.

The court heard Pham, who had an intellectual disability, migrated to Australia in 1991 to escape his impoverished life in Vietnam.

He had worked in restaurants, as a handyman, and as a chicken boner until he suffered neck and shoulder injuries in a 2011 car crash.

Pham, who has poor English skills, experienced depression and helplessness since the accident.

A presentence report said Pham offended to earn money to help provide financial support to his family in Vietnam.

He told the author he did not know growing cannabis was a serious offence in Australia.

The prosecution conceded Pham was "a low level crop sitter", only being paid $200 a week, and was rated a low risk of re-offending.

Chief Justice Murrell jailed Pham in late January and the sentenced published online last week.

The judge said punishment, specific and general deterrence, protection of the community, promotion of rehabilitation, accountability, and denunciation were important factors in sentencing.

“No sentence other than a sentence of imprisonment is appropriate,” Chief Justice Murrell said.

“Although his role was at the lowest level, the offender supported a sophisticated operation which was, no doubt, designed to be very profitable for the principal organisers.”

But the judge conceded the offender’s intellectual disability meant he had a limited capacity for reasoning and considered judgment.

“Particularly in the context of his cultural background this bears upon his moral culpability for the offence," he said.

“I am prepared to suspend the majority of the sentence because I appreciate that the offender is a person of no prior criminal record and for whom imprisonment will be particularly onerous given his disability and lack of English.”