Gang bashes man at station

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September 4, 2010

A WITNESS to a brutal gang attack on the Frankston line says he was stunned by the ferocity and speed of the assault on a passenger who had complained about youths smoking on a train.

Student Chris Tagle, 19, said he was on the train heading to Frankston on Thursday night when the passenger told the six young men they should not be smoking. Mr Tagle said he had echoed the complaint to the youths, who then moved to the next carriage.

But as the 38-year-old Caulfield North man who had first spoken to the youths got off at Malvern station about 9.15pm, he was ambushed by the men.

Mr Tagle said he and other passengers watched in horror as the six kicked the man. ''We did not realise what was happening until it was too late,'' he said.

The man tried to barge through the pack but was brought to ground then punched and kicked to the head. The youths fled when four Metro ticket inspectors also on on the train came to the victim's aid. The man had cuts and bruises but did not need to be taken to hospital.

Police are investigating several recent gang attacks on the Frankston line. In June, a gang of youths went on a rampage at McKinnon station, throwing rocks, abusing passengers and leaving a man in hospital with head injuries.

Acting Superintendent Nigel Howard said CCTV footage of the assault would be used to find the attackers, believed to be aged between 17 and 22.

An Auditor-General's report in June showed that since 2005 there have been about 7000 incidents of crime a year on Melbourne's train system, about a quarter of them crimes against people. There was a spike in 2008 but this fell in 2009 after police efforts, the report said.

There was an average of just 33 offences per million passenger boardings in Melbourne, the report said, but there was a strong perception among train users there was a danger of assault at night.

State Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu said the latest attack was proof that his plan to employ 940 police protective service officers to man suburban stations after 6pm was justified. ''What happened is unacceptable,'' he said. ''Where there are protective services officers then the chances of what happened are next to none.''

Premier John Brumby said the ''thuggish'' attack had been captured on CCTV. ''This sort of behaviour is never excusable,'' he said.

More than 100 Metro station staff met yesterday to demand safer working conditions after an armed robbery at Melbourne Central last Saturday night. A man with a handgun held up a ticket office and escaped with about $400.

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union has demanded more staff at city loop stations. ''We want a safe workplace for our members and a safe transport system for the public,'' secretary Trevor Dobbyn said.

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I find it extraordinary that this level of attacks made on law abiding citizens is allowed to continue.

Do the math

"7000 incidents of crime a year on Melbourne's train system"

"a quarter of them crimes against people"

That's 7000 x 0.25 = 1750 crimes committed against people a year on Melbourne's trains.

1750 crimes against people over 365 days = almost 5 violent attacks a day



MORE MATH

"33 offences per million passenger boardings" with 1/4 of crimes being against persons (that's YOU by the way) 33 x 0.25 = 8.25 attacks per million passenger boardings

Your chances of winning Saturday Night Gold Lotto with a standard entry is 1 in 678,755

You have far more chance of being assaulted catching a Melbourne Train than you do winning Saturday Night Lotto.

Elderly woman attacked

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September 5, 2010

DETECTIVES are searching for a teenager who allegedly sexually assaulted an elderly Ormond woman yesterday.

The young man allegedly knocked on the woman's door in Koornang Road at about 11am. Police are seeking a Caucasian male aged between 17 and 20, with black hair parted in the middle. He was wearing a navy blue jumper with yellow writing, black pants and black and white shoes.

Train glare ends in platform gang-bashing

September 3, 2010

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gang of youths kicked a train commuter in the head in Melbourne’s east last night after he glared at them for smoking on a train then tried to barge his way to safety, say police.

Have you witnessed, or been a victim of, violence on our trains? Email us with your story

The 38-year-old Caulfield North man was on a Frankston-bound train shortly after 9.30pm when he noticed two of the boys smoking, police said.

He gave them a disapproving look just moments before he stepped off the train at Malvern station.

But police said when he got off the train the boys followed.

While the man was on the platform, police believe the group signalled to another group of young men standing nearby and yelled out an order to bash the man.

Two males police want to speak to.

In an attempt to escape, the victim then tried to run through the group, knocking three of the teens over.

But he was grabbed by the others and pulled to the ground, where he was punched and kicked repeatedly to the head, face and body.

Police said other commuters called for help and Metro staff ran to the scene, which prompted the group of attackers to run away.

The man’s injuries included swelling, bruising and soreness to his left eye, swelling to the back of his head and a minor laceration to his forehead.

The man’s clothing was torn and he received a deep cut and swelling to his left elbow and cuts to both knees.

The six attackers are described as fair-skinned, between 17 and 22 years old, of medium build and about 185 centimetres tall.

One of the attackers was wearing a blue and black stripped windcheater while another was wearing a light-coloured hooded windcheater with black insignia on the front.

Police said four of the men were wearing street clothing and baseball caps.

The victim was treated at the scene but was not taken to hospital.

‘‘We are working with Department of Transport at this point to look at CCTV footage from Malvern railway station, and will hopefully be in a position to release that later this afternoon,’’ said

Acting Superintendent Nigel Howard of the Transit Police.

Bag snatcher stabs woman in torso

August 27, 2010

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A woman has been slashed with a pair of scissors by a thief attempting to snatch her bag in Braybrook this afternoon.

The victim suffered injuries to her upper torso when the would-be bag snatcher attacked her just before 2.30pm outside shops on Ballarat Road.

The Age understands the thief fled on foot empty-handed. A police spokeswoman said no one had been arrested over the incident and police did not have a description of the offender.

An Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman said the woman suffered minor injuries and is now in Sunshine Hospital in a stable condition.




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UPDATE

August 29, 2010

LINK

TWO people face armed robbery charges after a shopper was stabbed with scissors during a bag-snatch attempt in the car park of the Braybrook Shopping Centre yesterday.

A young woman stabbed the shopper and tried to grab her handbag, police said. When the shopper fought back, a man joined the attack and allegedly assaulted the woman while trying to loosen her grip on the bag.

Vigilante pair jailed

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August 28, 2010

TWO vigilantes who nearly bashed a suspected thief to death have been jailed.

Amrula Deniz Taskiran, of Narre Warren, received a call from his mother that a man was trying to break into her car last September. Taskiran began chasing the alleged thief, Harold Noyaux, and was joined by Joseph Nabalarua, of Hallam, the County Court heard. They then assaulted him.

The pair pleaded guilty to intentionally causing serious injury. Taskiran was jailed for 8½ years, Nabalarua for seven.

Man arrested after syringe attack

August 29, 2010

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A man has been arrested after a woman was stabbed with a syringe at the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne this afternoon.

The woman, 29, was sitting at a bus stop outside the market's entrance when she was stabbed in the shoulder with a syringe at about 3pm.

Police arrested the man in Errol Street, North Melbourne, around 7pm after responding to a report of suspicious activity.

The 32-year-old, of no fixed place of abode, is assisting police with their inquiries.

Train station robbed at gunpoint

August 30, 2010

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An armed man has held up the customer service section of a Melbourne city loop station and escaped with cash.

The robbery occurred at about 10pm (AEST) on Saturday at the Melbourne Central railway station in Melbourne’s CBD.

Police cordoned off the area and trains were delayed as they searched for the man. He is described as caucasian and in his mid-20s, with long blonde hair and wearing a green windcheater and cargo pants.

Man jailed for fatally stabbing teen with screwdriver

August 20, 2010

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A Sudanese-born Melbourne man who fatally stabbed another countryman with a screwdriver has been jailed for 10 years, with the judge issuing a strong warning that alcohol-fuelled violence will not be tolerated.

Stephen Tito, 22, drank a bottle of bourbon and multiple beers before he struck 19-year-old Afram Kodi after the pair attended a Boxing Day barbecue in Reservoir in 2008.

Tito then stabbed Mr Kodi with the screwdriver three times, the final blow of what Supreme Court Justice Terry Forrest described as an "unprovoked attack" piercing his skull.

Tito, of Reservoir, then kicked Mr Kodi in the chest before pulling the screwdriver out of his head and fleeing the scene.

He was found guilty of Mr Kodi's manslaughter in April.

During sentencing today, Justice Forrest said both men were young members of the Australian Sudanese community who had come to Australia for a better life.

Tito's family had moved here when he was 16 to avoid him becoming a child soldier.

Referring to victim impact statement's from Mr Kodi's family, Justice Forrest told Tito he had "cut short the life of a decent young man".

"By your actions, you have inflicted a blow from which the Kodi family may never recover," he said.

"Your family may never fully recover either."

Justice Forrest noted that Tito was "substantially intoxicated" at the time of the offence.

"It is clear enough that the abuse of alcohol is a problem for you, as it is for so many young Australians," he said.

"Young people in this state are being killed or seriously injured in alcohol-fuelled fighting on an alarmingly regular basis.

"People inclined to participate in these sorts of drunken fights must understand they do so at their peril and that the courts will not tolerate that type of conduct."

He ordered Tito to serve six years and three months before being eligible for parole.

Men jailed over tourist's bashing death

August 20, 2010

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Two men have been jailed over the death of 25-year-old Canadian man Cain Aguiar following a fight outside Yarraville's Blarney Stone pub last year.

Fostar Akoteu, 23, was this morning sentenced to 10 years' jail with a minimum of seven years' after he pleaded guilty earlier this month to manslaughter.

His friend, Sioeli Seau, 20, received an 18-month jail sentence with a minimum of 12 months after he pleaded guilty to common assault.

He is eligible to apply for parole now having already served 401 days awaiting sentence.

Another man will go to trial early next year over the incident, which the court heard was witnessed by several people.

Mr Aguiar died five days after a fight with the pair following a night out on July 9, 2009.

Justice Simon Whelan told Victoria's Supreme Court that a drunk Akoteu got jealous of a female friend spending time with Mr Aguiar at the hotel.

He said Akoteu had admitted during his police interview that Mr Agiuar did nothing to provoke the fight outside the pub after it closed.

Akoteu told several people, including Seau, that he planned to assault Mr Agiuar, Justice Whelan said.

Seau indicated he would support him, stating "don't worry about it ... I'll fight with him", before he approached Mr Aguiar and swung a punch.

Akoteu joined the fray as a security guard and another person tried to separate Mr Aguiar, who took off his jacket and took actions to defend himself.

"But he did not, at any stage, represent a threat to you or your friends," the judge said.

He added that while Seau had "instigated" the assault, Akoteu was the "principal aggressor". Another member of the group allegedly punched Mr Aguiar with considerable force, which caused him to hit his head on the ground.

"In the course of his fall his head struck the pavement with sufficient force to cause a sound which was heard by a number of bystanders," he said.

"Whilst he was lying unconscious, or at least helpless, with his head in the gutter, you either stomped on his head or kicked him in the head.

"As you stomped or kicked the head of this defenceless person, who had done nothing to provoke you and who represented no threat to you, you taunted him."

Akoteu agreed that he had said to Mr Aguiar: "Welcome to Australia, bitch".

"Mr Aguiar sustained serious injuries as a result of this attack," he said.

"He had a fractured cheekbone and a fracture which extended from the right temporal bone around the right base of the skull. He also had lacerations on his head and some other bruising."

His condition deteriorated later and on July 14, Mr Aguiar's parents, Issy and Tony, having arrived from Canada, made the decision to withdraw treatment. He died at 8.50pm that night.

Justice Whelan described the circumstances as the attack as "shocking" before he cited excerpts of Mrs Aguiar's victim impact statement.

It read: "Thirteen months have gone by and the shock and disbelief are as raw today as it was the day our son died. We have been irrevocably changed with our sense of the world now warped. Although we intellectually know the truth, our hearts often refuse to accept Cain is never coming back. We loved him and always will, and not a day goes by that we don't think of our son and remember all that he was to us".

He said both men, who have each fathered two children, had a history of drug and alcohol abuse.

He took into consideration their guilty pleas, remorse and good prospects of rehabilitation when sentencing.

Man shot by police

June 24, 2010

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A man has been taken to hospital after he was shot in the chest by a police officer in Melbourne’s north this afternoon.

Police say the man was attacking an officer with a knife when he was shot on Paringa Boulevard in Meadow Heights about 2pm.

The man, in his 30s, suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body and was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a serious but stable condition, Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman Susannah Wilson said.

Four other people were hospitalised as a result of the incident, including a police officer who suffered stab wounds.

Bashing pair have sentences reduced

June 24, 2010

Two men jailed over an unprovoked Geelong bashing three years ago have had their sentence reduced.

Michael Tancredi, an aspiring V8 Supercar driver, was sentenced last year in Geelong County Court to four years' jail with a minimum of two years and eight months, while Andrew Pamvouxoglou was imprisoned for three years with a non-parole period of two years after both pleaded guilty to recklessly causing serious injury in relation to the assault on June 15, 2007.

They appealed their sentence on the ground that sentencing judge Anthony Howard had erred in reasoning that they did not foresee the full consequences of their actions - namely the serious brain injury that victim Nathan Cafaro suffered.

They also argued that their sentences were manifestly excessive.

Court of Appeal justices David Ashley, Robert Redlich and Robert Osborn agreed and handed down their reasons this morning.

The sentencing judge had heard that Tancredi kicked a drunk Mr Cafaro in the chest and punched his jaw "so hard and effectively that he collapsed onto the pavement" after Mr Cafaro kicked an empty can in their direction and then punched a phone box as they walked past him as he waited for a cab at 1.20am in Moorabool Street.

Pamvouxoglou then kicked Mr Cafaro twice to his upper body as he lay on the ground in the foetal position.

A witness testified that the pair were "clearly hitting a person who was not able to fight back".

The men left Mr Cafaro bleeding and unconscious at the scene. They later returned to where the assault took place to find an ambulance and police present, but again drove off.

Justice Howard described the impact on Mr Cafaro as "horrendous". He required emergency surgery for a serious brain injury and endured six months of rehabilitation but has since fully recovered with no permanent brain damage.

The men handed themselves into police the following week.

The Court of Appeal judges found that "the appellants should be treated as having had foresight of serious injury, but not brain injury of the gravity actually sustained by the victim".

They ordered Pamvouxoglou to serve two years' jail with a non-parole period of 14 months and Tancredi to serve three years with a non-parole period of two years.

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There you go. Give some drunk a flogging then get your sentence reduced because you didn't know that you could have caused serious injury resulting in the poor bloke requiring "EMERGENCY SURGERY" for a "SERIOUS BRAIN INJURY" fortunately the bloke recovered but only after "6 MONTHS REHABILITATION"


There was a witness who was great at telling the judge what s/he saw but that did a fat lot of good to the guy whilst he was sustaining an unprovoked beating.

Two thugs who bashed man in front of his family jailed

• From: Herald Sun June 16, 2010

TWO thugs who launched a sickening attack on a father, during which they held his head under water and battered him with golf clubs and a tree branch, were jailed today.

French, Thomas, and Ludeman then set upon Mr Abel.

"The three commenced to punch and kick the victim, grabbing his beard and attempting to gouge his face,'' Judge Campton said.

"At the scene were located a number of clumps of hair from the victim's beard.

"Mr Abel feared for his safety. His wife and four children were all close to where the assault occurred.''

Judge Campton said Mr Abel had his head held under the water, was punched a number of times, then struck across the back with a tree branch.

French, Thomas and Ludeman went to their car and retrieved golf clubs and then surrounded the victim, smashing his head, legs and torso with the clubs.

"During the attack, one of the golf clubs was broken,'' the judge said. ''One of the accused attempted to stab the victim in the stomach with the broken club.''

Brady screamed abuse at Mr Abel's wife, Caroline Mahoney, and used the broken shaft of the golf club to threaten her.

Judge Campton said Mr Abel, a truck driver, sustained multiple injuries, included scalp lacerations, bruising and spinal injuries.

She read from victim impact statements where Ms Mahoney described the horror of watching her husband being beaten up and said the family would never recover from their ordeal.

French, of Croydon, and Thomas, of Collingwood, both pleaded guilty in the County Court to intentionally causing serious injury and Thomas also pleaded guilty to assault.