Indian-Australian doctor case: Attackers appeal sentence
Four Australian men who attacked an Indian-origin doctor in 2008 — and were all sentenced to a combined prison term of 65 years — have now appealed to a court that the punishment was “excessive”.
Mukesh Haikerwal, 47, a former head of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), was savagely beaten with a baseball bat and kicked by the gang during an armed robbery in September 2008. Haikerwal had to undergo emergency surgery to remove a life-threatening blood clot around his brain.
Alfer Jude Azzopardi, Michael Baltatzis, Sean Gabriel and Lee McGuigan had each pleaded guilty to armed robbery and bashing, in which 34 people were attacked, the Herald Sun reported. The gang targeted people walking at night and stole mobile phones, iPods and cash.
A court in 2009 handed Azzopardi a maximum sentence of 18 and a half years in jail with a minimum of 13 and a half years, McGuigan was given 21 years with an 18-year minimum, Baltatzis was given a 16 and a half years with a minimum of 10 and a half years, and Gabriel received nine years with a six-year minimum term.
Lawyers on behalf of the arrested men have now sought a reduction in the sentences, saying the prison terms were in the “irresponsible range” and were “manifestly excessive”. Theo Kassimatis, lawyer for Azzopardi, said the “crushing” jail term could result in his client’s psychological condition developing into a personality disorder which would make jail “more onerous” for him. The judges have reserved their decision.
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