‘Thug’ jailed over brutal bashing of ex-girlfriend

A FORMER Sudanese child soldier who came to Australia as a refugee tried to murder his exgirlfriend after she turned down his sexual advances, relentlessly beating and choking her until police intervened.

Lam Mut Lam Nhial Lam, 40, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder and was sentenced yesterday to nine years behind bars for the “brutal” attack on the woman in Brisbane in 2016.

The court was told Lam whispered “it will all be over soon” to the woman as he knelt on her chest, punching her, trying to smother and strangle her with a T-shirt and his hands during the terrifying attack.

In sentencing, Justice David Boddice described Lam as a “thug” and said the attack was “brutal, persistent and despicable … gratuitous violence on a defenceless woman” which had left her with significant psychological injuries.

The court was told that the pair had remained friends after their relationship ended and had been at the woman’s home when Lam lashed out after she rejected him.

Prosecutor Christopher Cook said police were forced to drag Lam off the woman as he continued to choke her, and believed Lam would have killed her if officers hadn’t arrived. Defence barrister Adrian Braithwaite said that Lam had had a traumatic childhood, kidnapped at age 11 and forced to join the army in Sudan during the civil war.

Justice Boddice dismissed suggestions the attack could be blamed on PTSD.