Punched at hospital

Thief assaults patient in face

A MAN waiting for treatment at the Townsville Hospital was punched in the face after he confronted a thief.

In Townsville Magistrates Court yesterday, acting Magistrate Scott Luxton described Kane Franklyn Andrew’s assault as a “low act” on a vulnerable man.

In a separate incident, Andrew, 38, brandished a hatchet- style axe and threatened to kill a family over a $ 150 debt.

Andrew pleaded guilty to common assault, stealing and going armed in public to cause fear.

Senior prosecutor Mark Fenlon said that at 1.45am on August 19, a man was in a hospital waiting room with a dislocated jaw.

He went to charge his phone and left his headphones on the seat.

Andrew took the headphones and tried to leave the hospital, but the victim approached him at the door.

“The victim confronted him about the headphones, the defendant became aggressive,” Mr Fenlon said.

“He’s thrown the headphones into a garden bed.”

The pair started arguing, then Andrew backed the man into a corner and punched him in the face.

“The victim’s fallen over from the blow ... they began to push and shove each other aggressively while continuing the verbal argument,” Mr Fenlon said.

Security arrived and Andrew fled the scene.

On the morning of December 1, Andrew confronted a man in Kirwan about a $ 150 debt he was owed.

Mr Fenlon said Andrew pulled a hatchet- style axe out of his car and brandished it while the victim’s partner and young children were present.

“( The woman) reported hearing ( Andrew) threaten to kill her, saying words to the effect of ‘ You know what I’m capable of, I’ll f..... g kill you all’ and waving the axe around,” he said.

The family ran and the woman phoned police in a “highly distressed state”.

Defence solicitor Phil Rennick said Andrew was in a relationship and on a disability pension due to a work- related back injury.

Mr Luxton said Andrew was on probation at the time of the offences.

“It is a low act in my view to take the property of someone who is waiting at hospital to be seen by a doctor, and obviously then to commit the offence of common assault,” he said.

Andrew was sentenced to six months’ jail.

He had already served 42 days and was released immediately on parole.