NSW: Ferry bashing can't be blamed on depression: judge

AAP General News (Australia)
04-09-2010
NSW: Ferry bashing can't be blamed on depression: judge

EDS: Note language in 11th and 13th pars



By Chi Tranter

SYDNEY, April 9 AAP - A former boxer's depression and obsessive compulsive disorder
(OCD) can't be used as an excuse for bashing an elderly man, a court has heard.

Grant Eric Brown, 31, of Mornington in Tasmania, punched 70-year-old John Edward Lane
in the face on a Sydney ferry late last year.

Brown, a former professional boxer, appeared in a Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court
on Friday to make submissions about his depression and OCD.

But Magistrate Judith Fleming said there was no link between his mental illness and the crime.

She said there was no indication in the psychological reports submitted to her that
Brown's illnesses caused aggression.

"If anything, the reports talk about withdrawal," Ms Fleming told the court.

Brown broke down and cried as the magistrate handed down her decision not to throw
his case out of court.

He is due to re-appear for sentencing in June after entering a plea of guilty.

The court heard Brown received an upsetting call from his girlfriend at about 6pm on
November 16 last year, shortly after the Manly Ferry left Circular Quay.

Witnesses described his behaviour as aggressive, saying he was kicking walls and bins.

When Mr Lane's friend asked Brown to calm down, he replied: "I'm going to bash your
head in. What the f*** are you looking at? I swear I am going to punch your head in".

The court heard Mr Lane intervened, telling Brown not to talk that way in front of ladies.

Brown then turned on Mr Lane, saying: "Step away. I swear I am going to punch you in
the f***ing head," before hitting him in the face.

Police documents tendered to the court said Mr Lane fell to the deck and witnesses
described hearing "a loud banging noise, similar to the sound of a bursting balloon".

Brown, who once fought on the undercard of an Anthony Mundine bout, pulled Mr Lane
off the ground by his clothing while blood poured from his head.

"The accused suddenly changed his demeanour ... shouting hysterically: `Someone help
him, someone help him'," the police documents say.

Police prosecutor Wayne Horan told the court on Friday that Mr Lane had lost 80 per
cent of his hearing in one ear as a result of the attack.

Both Mr Horan and Ms Fleming said Brown's training as a boxer had to be taken into
account, with the prosecutor saying "he has a responsibility to the community not to use
his ability against innocent civilians".

The defence claimed a specific set of circumstances led to Brown's outburst, including
running out of his medication, and it was unlikely to occur again.

However, Ms Fleming disagreed, saying distressing phone calls and feeling annoyed with
other passengers on public transport were common occurrences that shouldn't end in violence.

AAP ct/evt/cdh

KEYWORD: BROWN

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