‘I woke up in a puddle of blood’

DOMINIC Beinke came to the Gold Coast to celebrate an engagement party.

He returned home with a broken jaw after allegedly being punched by a Glitter Strip hotel bouncer.

In the Southport District Court yesterday, former soldier Dennis Hecta Tipene Faulkner pleaded not guilty to causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Beinke, of Sydney, at the Hotel Grand Chancellor in the early hours of February 9, 2014.

“I was unconscious for 30 seconds,” Mr Beinke said. “I thought I had lost all my teeth ... but then I realised my jaw was snapped in half. When I woke up I was in a puddle of blood.”

Mr Beinke and his two brothers were visiting from Sydney for an engagement party at Isle of Capri.

Mr Beinke and one of his brothers got into a confrontation with security guards who would not let them up to their room, the court heard. The room was booked in the name of the third brother.

The jury viewed CCTV footage showing the brothers arguing with Faulkner before Mr Beinke walks outside, where he is punched in the face.

Mr Beinke conceded profanities were used. Defence barrister Chris Rosser suggested Mr Beinke called his client a “dog” and other derogatory terms, and had taken a “swing”. “You called him a dumb black (expletive).” Mr Beinke denied the claims. He was charged with being drunk and disorderly and failing to leave a licensed premises, but the charges were dropped. The trial continues today.