The Fight Erupts
40 It is convenient first to note the evidence of the Sydney group.
41 Daniel Wilson said that after the red Lancer was driven away, he saw a man of Asian appearance (on the Crown case Chi Tam Huynh or "Big Chi") open the boot of a vehicle and pull out machetes, baseball bats and trolley poles. At that point "all hell broke loose". He said that he threw a bottle that he had in his hand toward the crowd, and together with his friends he ran up towards the hut pursued by the Wollongong group.
42 He also said that when the weapons were produced, he heard one member of the Wollongong group yell out "you Lebbos - get out of here". He said, as did Mathew Michael, that as his group ran away, the victim Christopher Wilson became separated from the others. He was next seen by him to have been caught up near the barbeque area, where he became the victim of a savage attack, being struck with a machete and other implements, repeatedly to the head and body. He was also kicked and punched.
43 Mathew Michael said that after the red car had stopped driving around, he saw a group of young men coming towards his group with weapons in their hands, which he described as machetes, club locks, bats and wooden poles. He saw Beiruti being kicked and punched. He said that his group ran back towards the huts and the Lagoon Restaurant. When they arrived they realised that Christopher Wilson was missing.
44 He then described seeing an Asian man beating a man down, and other people hitting and kicking him. They were about 100 metres away. The man striking the victim on the head, he said, had a wheel brace in his hand.
45 Paul Beiruti also described seeing a large group of males approach them from the car park. He said that he fell to the ground and was kicked, punched and hit with a baseball bat carried by an Asian guy. He saw one male with a wheel brace. He managed to get away and to join his friends. He added that when they realised that Christopher Wilson was missing, his group armed themselves with garden pickets and ran back to where they had last seen him. He acknowledged having used one of these pickets to strike the rear window of the red Lancer. He identified, via some photographs, the injuries which he sustained.
46 Tughlet Homeh said that, after hearing Mathew Michael ask for the phone back, and hearing the Islander who had been arguing with him whistle, he saw about eight men walking towards them, with other males jumping out of cars. He said that Beiruti dragged him out of the way of the red Lancer as it was heading towards him. It was being driven, he said, by the Islander who had whistled. After hearing another Islander suggesting that they fight one to one, he noticed weapons being taken from the cars, including the club lock and a spanner. The islander had the club lock and the Asian had the spanner. The man with the club lock he said was not Sione Amone.
47 He said that, when his group began to run back towards the car park with the garden poles, the other group drove off in their cars. When he reached the car park he noticed the victim lying on the ground and he heard a girl crying.
48 On the following night he made an identification, from a group of photos, of the man who had whistled and had driven the red Lancer. He made a further identification on 20 April 2002. The Crown concedes that it was Sione Amone that he identified. On its case that had been a mistaken identification of Duncan. Each of these men was in fact of Islander appearance.
49 Jovana Ljubojevic said that after she heard Mathew Michael requesting the return of his phone, and Duncan whistle, she and the victim had left her car and made their way towards the hut. About half way there she saw her friends running towards the car park. It was after Duncan had been driving the red car around, that she saw "Jap" (Chi Bin Nguyen) take a machete out of the boot of the car. She said that she saw him swing the machete at the victim. The next thing she saw was the victim surrounded by a group of people who were armed with bats and poles. She said that she only recognised "Jap" who, at this time, had a metal pole, which he was using to hit the victim over the head repeatedly. Others in the group she said were also hitting him with poles and a bat before walking away. Three of them however came back and kicked him a few more times before leaving.
50 Snezana Tankoska also said that she saw "Jap" swing a machete at the victim, who ran towards the shed near the old restaurant, but was struck down before he got there, being surrounded by twenty or so people who were hitting and kicking him.
51 Christina Kusonogovski said that when she saw people running around and fighting, she moved away from the cars over towards the Novotel. The next thing she noticed was Jovana Ljubojevic's car being smashed.
52 It is next convenient to deal with the evidence of the Wollongong group who had been at the party.
53 Sione Amone said that Big Chi took a machete out of the boot of his red Laser and gave it to Jap. At that point, he said, he tried to take the machete off Jap to stop him, succeeding only in cutting his finger. The injury he said was attended to by Tracey Saye, who had a beach towel in the back of her car. He said that he then remained near the car with Tracey Saye and Carla Busuttil.
54 He also said that he saw Duncan and the others chasing "a guy" back towards the barbeque area. He next saw a person on the ground with three or four persons standing over him, and hitting him with something. He recognised that the persons included Big Chi, Jap, and "some of the Massos" (Macedonians and Serbians). He agreed that he had not noticed anything in Duncan's hand while he had been chasing the guy. He said that he saw another man, who he thought was Zelco, with a metal bar and Big Chi with a baseball bat running behind Jap.
55 He described seeing Duncan, Big Chi and Jap up in the area where the Sydney group had left their cars, smashing those cars. Although he said in chief that Duncan was kicking the cars, in cross-examination he withdrew that answer. He said that he, along with Carla Busuttil and Jason Kusonogovski, jumped into Alana Ljubicic's red Lancer and left. As they did so the rear window was smashed after being struck twice. Duncan, he said, was standing near the other vehicles when they left.
56 He acknowledged having been charged over the assault, but said that the charge was later withdrawn. He admitted having told the police a lie about not having been to the park, when interviewed by them, and having offered Carla Busuttil as an alibi witness. The reason he said was because he was scared and wanted to stick up for his friends.
57 However, on 6 November 2001, he spoke again to police and provided answers to questions concerning the events in the park. He acknowledged having told police a lie on this occasion in so far as he had explained the cut on his finger as having occurred when he pushed out the broken rear window of Alana Ljubicic's car, because he did not think they would have believed that it occurred when trying to disarm Jap.
58 Carla Busuttil said that she also saw Duncan running up towards the grassed area, chasing some people, after bringing the red Lancer to a stop.
59 She then saw "Big Chi" open the boot of his red Laser and take out a machete which he gave to "Jap". They then ran off towards the grassed area. Elbert Jose moved Chi's car, as did Alana Ljubicic. Carla said that she walked over to where Ljubicic's car was parked. She saw people fighting in the grassed area, using pieces of wood or sticks, and kicking a person on the ground. She saw Jap swinging the machete in the air as he ran towards the grassed area. After that she got into Alana Ljubicic's car together with Jason Kusonogovski and Sione Amone.
60 While Alana Ljubicic was yelling out for Duncan to join them, she saw that there were four people left in the grassed area: the victim who was lying on the ground, Duncan, Big Chi and Jap. Jap was hitting the man with the machete, Duncan was punching him and kicking him in the stomach, and then, on her account, he took the machete from Jap and struck the victim with it. The next thing she saw was Big Chi smashing windows of the cars and jumping on top of them. He was joined by Jap who also kicked and struck the cars. He was later joined by Duncan who similarly struck the cars. Big Chi ran to his red Laser, followed by Jap and finally by Duncan. The driver she said was Elbert Jose. As Ljubicic's vehicle drove off it was struck from behind by someone, shattering the rear window.
61 Similarly to Amone, she acknowledged having given police a false account when interviewed by them on 3 November. On 5 and 25 November she provided further information to police in the form of an interview and statement, which she said had been truthful. Although she did acknowledge giving an explanation to the effect that the cut on Amone's finger occurred while he was washing up, she said that at the time she had believed this to be the case, as she had seen him cut his hand on a broken glass in the sink.
62 She acknowledged having been Sione Amone's girlfriend as at 2 November 2001, and said that their relationship was continuing. She denied that Amone had been involved in the fight, saying that he had remained with her between the time that he had told Duncan to fight them "one on one" until they had left the area.
63 She also denied having placed Duncan in the place of Amone in relation to the fight, and confirmed that Amone's clothes had not been covered in blood. She had initially lied to police, she said, because she had been confused and scared of getting Amone and herself into trouble and of dobbing other people in.
64 Hayley Girgin also described seeing "Jap" with a machete in his hands, standing beside the man on the ground, along with eight or ten men who were kicking and hurting him, although in cross-examination she appeared to be less certain as to what precisely was occurring. She said that she did not recognise the people involved other than Jap.
65 She also gave evidence of Sione Amone receiving assistance for a cut to his hand. Additionally, she said, she had not seen him involved in any of the fighting.
66 Tracey Saye said that after Duncan had driven off in the red Lancer, she saw Sione Amone come over to her car with a cut on his hand. She took an old beach towel out of her boot and wrapped it around his head. While the boot was open, she said, Adam Perre came over, and took from it a wooden leg, which she had previously broken off from a "For Sale" sign. He then ran over to where the fight was taking place. She said that she heard people yelling and screaming and saw Perre hitting the boy on the ground with the piece of wood that he had taken from her car "like a cricket bat - just hitting."
67 She said that she had not seen Duncan at the park after he had earlier got into Alana Ljubicic's car and driven off in it. When that vehicle later drove off she confirmed seeing the boys of Lebanese appearance hitting it with bottles and sticks.
68 She agreed that she had not seen any blood on Duncan's person or clothing at the house when the Wollongong group later gathered.
69 It was her evidence that she had driven Hayley Girgin, Adriano Karuso, Adam Lamacchia, and Anthony Quach from Stuart Park.
70 Although Alana Ljubicic initially said in chief that she had not seen Duncan after he had left the car, when she was cross-examined by the Crown by leave under s 38 of the Evidence Act, she acknowledged having told police (Detective Pamozzo) on 3 November 2001 that she had seen a number of fights breaking out in which Duncan and Jap had been involved. She said that what she had told police would have been true, although she did not now remember it.
71 In cross-examination she indicated that she could not fix any particular fight in which Duncan was seen by her to be a participant. Rather she was referring to the whole situation, pointing out that she had not actually seen the assault on the young man who was injured.
72 She also said that she sat in her car, which she had moved back from where Duncan had left it, while the fight was occurring. She recalled seeing Duncan jump into Big Chi's car, which then drove off. Sione Amone, she said, got into her car together with Carla (Busuttil) and Jason Kusonogovski. As they were leaving, someone smashed the back window of her car. Sione Amone, she noticed, had cut his finger. He explained that he had been trying to take the knife off someone.
73 Jason Kusonogovski denied being involved in the fight that left the victim injured. He said that, while hiding on the other side of the park, he could hear yells and swearing and saw people running around but could not otherwise see what was happening. He eventually went back to Alana Ljubicic's car and asked her to leave the area, as he was scared. She drove off. He was sitting in the back seat when the window was smashed by someone with a pole. He confirmed that the other occupants were Carla Busuttil and Sione Amone.
74 Steven Siljanoski said that after Duncan stopped the car "everything was just mayhem" with people running around and ending up on the grass near the beach. He remained near Gjoreski's car, hiding behind it. He initially said that although he saw someone on the ground being hit with branches and perhaps a pole, he did not recognise any of the members of the group of three or four persons. He also said that when Oliver Gjoreski called out that it was time to go, he and Mitic jumped into Gjoreski's car, followed by someone he did not know who had blood on his fist. As they left he saw Big Chi smashing one of the vehicles of the Sydney group.
75 He was cross-examined pursuant to leave given under s 38 of the Evidence Act and admitted to having made a statement to police, which he agreed he had read before signing it, and which he also agreed had been made to the best of his knowledge at the time.
76 In that statement, he accepted, he had told the police that he saw Duncan and Perre in the group of men who were hitting and kicking the victim. He said that he had seen someone with blonde hair in the group, and according to him the detective asked him if that had been Adam Perre. That led him to ask if Perre had blonde hair? The detective, he said, replied in the affirmative, even though Perre had black hair. He had also said that he had to wear glasses when he drove and that he could not see 100 percent.
77 When asked at the trial as to the extent of his knowledge of Perre, he said that "he didn't really know him but he just knew the name." He would not say they were friends but he "knew who he was".
78 When cross-examined by defence counsel he reverted to saying that he could not now be certain that Duncan and Perre were members of the group who were attacking the victim.
79 Zoran Mitic said that he had been taken to the park in Oliver Gjoreski's green Pulsar, and had hidden behind Oliver Gjoreski's car while Duncan was driving the Lancer around. When he re-emerged he saw a man on the grass up near the beach being kicked and punched, but could not recognise those involved. He said that he left the area in Gjoreski's vehicle, with Steven Siljanoski and someone else who he did not recall, who was holding his hand. They drove to the JJ Kelly Park. There, he said, he saw Duncan.
80 There was no suggestion made of Duncan having phoned him for a lift from the park, or of him driving Duncan away.
81 Oliver Gjoreski said that when he saw people scuffling and bottles being thrown, and the Lancer driving around, he called out to Mitic and Siljanoski "hurry up, hurry up, let's go". They joined him in his car, followed by someone who was dark, and who had blood on his hands, whom he did not know. He knew Duncan who had driven from Elbert Jose's party to the park.
82 The person with blood on his hand, who got into this vehicle, the Crown asserted, was Adam Lamacchia.
83 Elbert Jose who acknowledged having had a fair bit to drink, said that he had been sitting in Big Chi's car, sleeping while the fight occurred. He acknowledged hearing bottles breaking and people yelling. When he was woken up, he drove Big Chi's vehicle toward the Novotel but then got out and someone else drove. He recalled its occupants being Big Chi, Frieda Iordanidis, Adam Perre and another person who he could not recall. He claimed not to have seen Duncan at the park or in the car.
84 Frieda Iordanidis said that after she noticed "Big Chi" smashing a car, she asked Elbert Jose to drive his car back to pick him up. She said that Big Chi, "Jap" and Perre got into his red Laser, in which she was sitting, followed finally by Duncan. Jose drove part of the way and was then replaced by Big Chi as driver. Alana Ljubicic also said that she saw Duncan jump into Chi's car as she left.
85 Anthony Quach said, in cross-examination, that at the time that the two groups were yelling at one another and after the Lancer had been driven around, he saw people getting "stuff" out of the boot of a car, including a wheel brace.
86 Iannis Mellos said that he had not been involved in the fight, but indicated that he had seen "Jap" fighting a man.
87 Finally, reference may be made to the group of people who had not been to Elbert Jose's party and who had independently arrived in the park.
88 Joseph Mishawi did not identify any of the assailants, but confirmed seeing someone being hit on the grassed area with poles by about three people. They then ran past his car. The next thing he saw was a red car leaving.
89 Ahmed Kak said that he had arrived in the park at about midnight with Joe (Mishawi) and Lena Ivanovska, and Diana. While they sat in Mishawi's car, he noticed a "couple of guys" who looked like Syrians and who were screaming and swearing, kick and hit the red Lancer. He said that people inside that car, who he described as Asians, got out of the car with metal poles and chased the Syrians or Lebanese back towards the beach. One, he said, was too slow and was caught. He was then hit with poles, and hit and kicked by four or five men while he was on the ground. This continued for 3 or 4 minutes. One of the girls with them he recalled, was saying "stop, stop hitting him".
90 Diana Petroska also described ten or more people bashing a man on the ground with poles, over the grassed area on the beach side of the park. One of these people she recognised as "Jap", who she knew from school. This, she said, followed her observation of a red Lancer being driven around, and of people moving out of its way.
91 Lena Ivanovska gave a somewhat similar account of an attack taking place after the red car had been driving around, making turns and doing burnouts and skids. She was unable to see precisely what then occurred, but recalled seeing men with sticks and poles and then seeing people crowded around a man on the ground. She said that she was scared and tried to avoid looking.