Trainer pulls blade on man
PT slapped with $800 fine for heated flare-up at shopping centre
A personal trainer pulled out a razor during a heated outburst outside Australia Fair Shopping Centre, with a court told he had the blade on him to shave before a TAFE exam.
Scott David Seggie appeared at Southport Magistrates Court where he pleaded guilty to public nuisance and unlawful possession of a category M (bladed) weapon.
Police prosecutor Sergeant
Greg McKenzie told the court about 2.30pm on February 1, police were called to the Southport CBD on an unrelated matter when they heard raised voices saying “f--- off, f--- off”.
Officers walked towards the voices and saw Seggie in a verbal argument with another man, with the outburst about to turn physical before a woman de-escalated the situation, Sergeant McKenzie said.
But it was when Seggie began walking away that he noticed the approaching officers “and gestured to the police”, prompting a pat-down search.
“He complied with the patdown search where a single immediate-release cut-throat knife was located in his right short pocket,” Sergeant McKenzie said.
“He made admissions to pulling the knife out of his pocket, namely the blade, holding it in his right hand (when) he confronted the male.”
However Seggie’s defence lawyer Michael Gatenby, of
Gatenby Criminal Law, said Seggie only had the razor blade because he wanted to look presentable ahead of a TAFE exam held at the shopping centre.
“Mr Seggie had just completed a personal training course through TAFE College in Australia Fair,” Mr Gatenby told the court.
Mr Gatenby said Seggie also suffers from epilepsy and had an episode shortly after completing his exam.
“Mr Seggie (then) goes outside, and he’s sitting down with his back against the wall trying to rest and recover,” he explained.
While resting, Mr Gatenby said the man and the woman walked past when the “fellow made some disparaging comments towards Mr Seggie”.
Seggie was convicted and fined $500, referred to SPER, and ordered to pay an additional $300 for breaking his previous bond.