R v Harmouche

[2015] ACTSC 217

SUPREME COURT OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

Case Title:

R v Harmouche

Citation:

[2015] ACTSC 217

Hearing Date(s):

2, 8 April 2015

DecisionDate:

5 August 2015

Before:

Burns J

Decision:

The accused is found not guilty of the offence of recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Category:

Principal Judgment

Catchwords:

CRIMINAL LAW – Judge-Alone Trial – reasons – verdict of not guilty.

CRIMINAL LAW – Particular Offences – offences against the person – recklessly inflict grievous bodily harm.

Parties:

The Queen (Crown)

Saed Harmouche (Accused)

Representation:

Counsel

Mr K Lee (Crown)

Mr M Dennis (Accused)

Solicitors

ACT Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown)

Kamy Saeedi Lawyers (Accused)

File Number(s):

SCC 59 of 2014

BURNS J:

1. On 8 April 2015, I found the accused not guilty of Count 1 on the indictment dated 27 March 2015, being a count of recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm on Turki Alshehri. I note that, on 2 April 2015, the accused entered a plea of guilty to Count 2 on the indictment, alleging that, on 21 July 2013, by an unlawful or negligent act, he caused grievous bodily harm to Turki Alshehri.

1. The trial of the accused commenced before me, sitting without a jury, on 2 April 2015. It was then adjourned part heard to 8 April 2015 and concluded that day. I found the accused not guilty of the charge of recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm and I indicated I would provide reasons at a later date. These are those reasons.

1. Put briefly, I found the accused not guilty of the charge of recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm because I was not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that he had the requisite intention for that offence.

The evidence

1. The first witness for the Crown was Ene Faavae. He was a patron at Meche nightclub on Saturday 21 July 2013. He knew the accused, as he was friends with the younger brother of the accused. He saw the accused on the dance floor. He said that he saw the accused punching a man. He testified that he saw the accused throw two punches initially, followed by a further two punches. He tried to pull the accused away from the other man, but the accused turned around and punched him. He said that he saw the man who had been punched by the accused fall backwards. In cross-examination, the witness accepted that he had consumed 20 alcoholic drinks that night and was quite significantly affected by alcohol. He also agreed that the light was bad in the nightclub. He was unable to say where he had been drinking before he went to Meche, or how long he had been at the nightclub before this incident occurred. He also agreed that he could not be certain as to how many punches were thrown by the accused, and that it could have been as few as one.

1. The second witness for the Crown was Stephanie Sostarko, who was a friend of the disc jockey working at Meche on the night…