Coming down heavily on racist attacks, an Australian court in Melbourne has sentenced the attacker of an Indian student, who went into a coma after being brutally beaten up, to over four years in jail.
Judge Pamela Jenkins sentenced 21-year-old Zakarie Hussein to four-and-a-half years' jail term, with a minimum non-parole period of two years, observing that such racist attacks need to be condemned.
Sukhraj Singh, 28, was attacked by Zakarie and a gang, which vandalised an Indian grocery store last year and left him in a coma for 15 days.
This is the first sentencing in a case involving attack on Indian students. Australia has recently been hit by a spate of attacks targeted against Indians, with over 30 such cases being reported in the last three months.
The city-based county court heard that the incident, which left the Indian student in coma with permanent brain disabilities, was just a 'sheer thrill' for the attackers, The Age newspaper reported on Friday.
Prosecutors told the court that last December, the gang of seven youths, who were drunk and carrying wooden sticks, raided an Indian grocery store. Shouting "are you Indian," they randomly struck their victims.
Singh was beaten unconscious and spent months in hospital and rehabilitation after being struck three times on the head and receiving blows on the body, the report said. Judge Jenkins said the group had deliberately targeted victims of Indian ethnicity in the 'unprovoked rampage'.
Hussein, who is of Somali origin, had pleaded guilty to armed robbery, recklessly causing serious injury, and six counts of recklessly causing injury. Judge Jenkins said Hussein had not used his wooden weapon, but had planned to do so, before being knocked out of the way by a co-offender. She said the victims had tried to cower from their attackers and had done nothing to provoke the attack.
The youths had been drinking beer in a park for approximately four hours before they raided the store, where two of the teens began a racist argument with two customers, the court heard.
About five minutes later, the pair returned with their friends, armed with wooden bars and a fluorescent light tube, and began smashing up the store. They indiscriminately hit customers and staffers as they yelled "are you Indian?" and "bloody Indians, f--- off".
The shop's cash register was stolen and the loot divided up among the offenders. Hussein received about Australian S$15.
In a statement tendered to the court, Singh said metal plates had been inserted into his face. He had shed up to 15 kilograms and had been left with lumps and scars on his head from the assault.
"I am lucky to be alive, all my friends and family thought I was going to die," Singh said in the statement. He added that he suffered from dizzy spells and had undergone counseling after being plagued by nightmares and flashbacks.
The court heard that Singh's injuries had been potentially life-threatening and he had been unable to work for five months. He may not be able to complete his studies and was too frightened to live alone.
"Your victims presented no threat to you or your co-offenders whatsoever. They did not provoke you, they did not fight back and indeed they made every effort to escape from the assaults," the Judge told Hussein.
"Notwithstanding these circumstances, the victims were beaten apparently for the sheer thrill, Singh being subjected to a particularly savage beating with terrible consequences for him. Short of becoming prisoners in their own homes, there is little potential victims can do to prevent such attacks," she said.
Hussein's family migrated to Australia from Somalia when he was approximately six years old. His defence argued that Hussein played only a minor role in the attack, as he had been drunk after consuming nearly ten beers, and was remorseful.
Judge Jenkins said that despite Hussein not having hit any of the other victims, he had entered the store armed with the intention of hurting someone and had yelled encouragement to his friends.
The Judge said it was 'particularly shameful' that the Somali immigrant had vented his rage on international students and other young immigrants.
"There is no question that the offending constituted an extremely violent and indiscriminate rampage by armed youths exhibiting the worst traits of a pack mentality," Judge Jenkins told Hussein. Hussein had prior convictions for robbery, assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.
Four of Hussein's co-offenders, aged between 14 and 17 at the time of the attack, had already received 12-month sentences in a youth detention centre. A fifth teen received a 12-month youth supervision order.
Director of Public Prosecutions Jeremy Rapke has appealed against the sentences, arguing they are 'manifestly inadequate'.
The Court of Appeal is yet to hand down its judgement. A sixth offender, who has pleaded guilty in the Children's Court, will be sentenced following the result of the appeal.
