A SECURITY guard at The Metropolitan Hotel pleaded guilty in Orange District Court last week to a charge of reckless grievous bodily harm after a patron was flown to Westmead Hospital with a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Police facts, agreed upon by the accused, were tendered to the court, and Judge Julia Baley sentenced Villiami Mataele, 49, to a suspended jail term of 20 months.
Mataele, also known as Lufe Puluno, William Tova and William Toovey, was expected to contest the charge in a trial but instead pleaded guilty.
Police facts said on April 5, 2014, at about 8.30pm the owner of the Metropolitan Hotel, Gary Ziebarth, was informed the victim of the assault was intoxicated and had argued with another patron at the front of the venue.
Mr Ziebarth asked the victim to leave the pub but he did not. A police officer then entered the pub and spoke with Mr Ziebarth who informed the officer the patron had been told to “move on”.
Again, the victim did not leave, rather he told Mr Ziebarth he needed to go back into the gaming room to find his wallet and phone.
Mr Ziebarth then spoke with Mataele and asked him to remove the victim form the pub.
Mataele followed the victim to the back area of the pub, into the pool room and then pushed the victim twice, in the shoulder, and the victim stepped towards the back door.
But still, the victim remained in the pub at 9.37pm and Mataele then pushed the victim in the chest with both hands.
The victim left the venue through the back glass doors but remained on the landing when Mataele slapped him, causing him to fall backwards down the seven concrete steps.
Witnesses and bar staff helped the victim to his feet once he regained consciousness but the victim declined the service of an ambulance.
Rather, he went home where his partner reported he began vomiting and blood was oozing from his head.
He was later flown to Sydney for treatment.