- Teenager jailed for bashing father-of-four to death with Passion Pop bottle
- By Elissa Hunt
- News.com.au
- 28/01/2009 Make a Comment
- Contributed by: The Rooster ( 258 articles in 2009 )
A TEENAGER who bashed a father-of-four to death in southeast Melbourne after a night binging on Passion Pop has been jailed.
The youth, who can't be named, was drunk on Passion Pop, an inexpensive wine-based alcoholic drink, when he attacked Malaysian vegetable picker Leong Lim in March 2007, the Herald Sun reports.
Mr Lim, 45, who was picking snow peas in Victoria to support his family back home, had been at the Sandown Tabaret when the teen saw him walking home along Springvale Rd just after midnight.
After hitting him repeatedly with a Passion Pop bottle he robbed Mr Lim of his wallet and phone.
Mr Lim, whose children were aged seven to 16, died from severe head injuries including a skull fracture.
The youth had been drinking with friends and regularly binged on the beverage, admitting he drank four bottles that night.
Supreme Court Justice Paul Coghlan said the teen, who was 16 at the time, had endured terrible poverty in Ethiopia and his experiences of surviving a war zone had left him with the mentality that "only the strong survive".
Justice Coghlan said the teen had no education growing up and when he arrived in Australia aged 12 he struggled at school, taking up drinking after falling in with a crowd of African youths who had endured similar experiences.
He told the teen his association with the group did not help and encouraged his aggression, as did his drinking which was "more a product of our culture than the culture and background from which you come".
"It is imperative that our community takes a stand. It needs to become clear to our young men and women that enjoyment of life and position in society is not to be measured or driven by ever increasing consumption of alcohol," he said.
The teen, who is now 18, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and armed robbery.
Justice Coghlan said the reducing of a murder charge to manslaughter was merciful but appropriate given the youth's background.
He was jailed for eight years and ordered to serve a minimum of four.
The youth, who can't be named, was drunk on Passion Pop, an inexpensive wine-based alcoholic drink, when he attacked Malaysian vegetable picker Leong Lim in March 2007, the Herald Sun reports.
Mr Lim, 45, who was picking snow peas in Victoria to support his family back home, had been at the Sandown Tabaret when the teen saw him walking home along Springvale Rd just after midnight.
After hitting him repeatedly with a Passion Pop bottle he robbed Mr Lim of his wallet and phone.
Mr Lim, whose children were aged seven to 16, died from severe head injuries including a skull fracture.
The youth had been drinking with friends and regularly binged on the beverage, admitting he drank four bottles that night.
Supreme Court Justice Paul Coghlan said the teen, who was 16 at the time, had endured terrible poverty in Ethiopia and his experiences of surviving a war zone had left him with the mentality that "only the strong survive".
Justice Coghlan said the teen had no education growing up and when he arrived in Australia aged 12 he struggled at school, taking up drinking after falling in with a crowd of African youths who had endured similar experiences.
He told the teen his association with the group did not help and encouraged his aggression, as did his drinking which was "more a product of our culture than the culture and background from which you come".
"It is imperative that our community takes a stand. It needs to become clear to our young men and women that enjoyment of life and position in society is not to be measured or driven by ever increasing consumption of alcohol," he said.
The teen, who is now 18, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and armed robbery.
Justice Coghlan said the reducing of a murder charge to manslaughter was merciful but appropriate given the youth's background.
He was jailed for eight years and ordered to serve a minimum of four.
Source: https://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,24975047-421,00.html
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