Jail threat over breach By Cam Lucadou-Wells A 22-year-old man faces at least a month in custody after abducting an ex-girlfriend from her Noble Park home in defiance of an intervention order. The man, with his mother in tow, arrived on the victim’s doorstep and was requested to leave on the evening of 19 May, Dandenong Magistrates’ Court heard. The accused lifted the victim by the waist, saying: “I’ll take you with me and we’ll talk about this at my house.” Despite her pleas to desist, he carried her and forced her into the back seat of his Toyota sedan. Then he drove, with the central locking activated to prevent the victim’s escape. He drove on the Monash Freeway, yelling at her about the intervention order and accusing her of cheating on him. Police established contact with the man on the victim’s phone. He agreed to return the victim home but told
her he’d kill himself if he had to go to the police station or jail. According to the victim, the man had been resisting her attempts to break off their relationship for six months. He had been persistently following her in his car and ringing her, and had punched and bruised her arm, prosecutor Senior Constable Ben Hodson told the court. As she arrived outside Dandenong Magistrates’ Court to file for an intervention order on 12 May, the man drove up alongside her, wound down a window and confronted her. Due to a “degree of naivety” - according to his lawyer - the man resisted police arrest and was sprayed with capsicum foam. The man pleaded guilty to all charges at the hearing on 29 May. His lawyer told the court that the man, who had been “struggling to deal with the reality that she was no longer with him”, now had insight into his offending.
He was keen to avoid a return to the cells after an “extremely confronting” 11 days in remand custody. “All he says is he was in love with her. It spiralled out of control and now (he realises) it’s all over. “He just wants to move on.” Magistrate Pauline Spencer said she didn’t want to release the accused on bail or sentence him until he was psychiatrically assessed. Ms Spencer noted the man’s “high-risk factors” such as “stalking-type behaviour” and making a threat to kill himself. “False imprisonment is an extremely serious matter which has a significant maximum term. “Despite his age, (further jail) is not out of range.” Pending a psychiatric report, the man was remanded in custody for sentencing on 21 June.
Ballet classic’s love and death in a dance until dawn A heartbreaking ballet classic is on its way to Dandenong. The Australian Ballet is bringing Giselle to the Drum Theatre stage at 7.30pm on Wednesday 5 and Thursday 6 July. Giselle premiered in Paris, France, in 1841 and is a tragic story of love, madness and betrayal. It follows a village girl who falls in love with a man who is not all he seems and dies of a broken heart when she discovers his deception. She is transformed into a spirit, is reunited with her lover in a forest haunted by the ghosts of jilted women and must dance with him until dawn to save his life. The show will be part of the Australian Ballet Regional Tour. Artistic director David McAllister said Giselle was a ballet that all dancers loved dancing. Visit www.drumtheatre.com.au for more information.
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By Casey Neill Nur Islam’s intent is a sticking point in the court case over last year’s Springvale bank fire. The Springvale Rohingya asylum seeker, 22, will return to Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 19 September for committal proceedings. The court heard on Thursday 1 June that his defence team and the prosecution could not agree on whether his actions at the Commonwealth Bank in Springvale Road on 18 November were intentional or reckless. Mr Islam appeared via videolink and was assisted by a Burmese interpreter present in the courtroom. Mr Islam’s lawyer, Kate Ballard, said there was not compelling evidence to support the charges of intentionally causing injury, but that the prosecution disagreed. “That’s where the point of contention lies,” she said. “It’s really that narrow issue.” Magistrate Peter Reardon questioned what his other intent there would have been. “Just that he intended to start a fire,” Ms Ballard replied. Magistrate Reardon said: “With a bank full of people?” He set the matter down for an hour-long hearing and urged the defence and prosecution to determine ahead of time which footage from the incident they planned to show. Magistrate Reardon also noted that 34 of Mr Islam’s now-108 charges included the term “intentionally”. The 16 charges added since his last hearing on 11 May included recklessly causing injury and recklessly engaging in conduct that placed people in danger of death. The incident injured more than 20 people and caused about $2.5 million in damage. The bank reopened its doors on Monday 3 May. Staff said that returning to work would help them to heal. Ms Ballard made no application for bail.
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Giselle stars Karen Nanasca and Andrew Killian. Picture: JEFF BUSBY
Court stuck on attacker intent
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