Only one member of a teenage gang which brutally bashed up an Indian student and blinded him in one eye was on Wednesday given a suspended jail term with community work while others escaped custodial sentences.
County court Judge Susan Cohen handed down the sentence, saying accused Majang Ngor had worked hard since the incident to distance himself from a bad crowd and reform himself, Herald Sun newspaper reported. Cohen imposed an eight-month jail term suspended for 15 months and a community based order with 40 hours of work for Ngor, who is now 20-year-old, saying the community would benefit most from his rehabilitation. Judge Cohen said it was to the credit of Ngor, a Sudanese refugee, that he finished Year 12, found himself a stable job and stopped binge-drinking with other teens. Ngor came to Australia in 2005 and had to learn English.
She also said violence around railway stations was a major concern for the community. It was also cited that Ngor, who pleaded guilty to recklessly causing serious injury, intentionally causing injury, robbery and attempted robbery, didn’t cause the worst injuries but had helped those who did.
“For the rest to join in was both cowardly and senseless and reflected a pack reaction,” she said, adding the matter was “less serious” than if weapons had been used. She said that sending Ngor to prison for the four years as urged by the prosecution would give him an unjust sentence compared with the co-offenders who played more serious roles. The others, all aged under 18 at the time, were recently sentenced in the children’s court.