Thaindian News

Melbourne, Oct 21 (IANS) A man who brutally hit and robbed an Indian student last year in this Australian city claimed that the assault was not racist, though during the attack, he said: “Shut up, you Indian mother******”.

Shayne Comensoli, 20, and his friend Lennon Metaxas randomly targetted Indian student Lucky Singh, 23, in a phone booth in Sunshine, in Melbourne’s west, Oct 15, 2009.

Singh was left bleeding and unconscious on the footpath. He suffered fractures, severe swelling and bruising.

Melbourne is Australia’s second most populous city and capital of Victoria state.

Comensoli told the Victorian county court Thursday that the assault was not a racist one, despite Singh’s evidence that Comensoli said to him “Shut up, you Indian mother******” during the attack, Australian news agency AAP reported.

Aleksander Trifunovic, a friend of the attackers who has been convicted for aiding the assault, said he drove Comensoli and Metaxas around Melbourne’s west looking for an Indian person to rob on that night.

They stole $80 from Singh’s wallet.

The court was told that Comensoli had a history of violence.

Comensoli claimed that he was remorseful and Singh’s victim impact statement made him “sick” and the attack was “cowardly”, the media report said.

He also said he was “ashamed” and had not told his cricket club in Sunshine about the attack as there were Indian and Sri Lankan players.