by Cam Lucadou-Wells
An intoxicated Dandenong man who chased down and repeatedly stabbed an unarmed man near a Chapel Street nightclub in Prahran has been jailed for up to five years.
Sayed Hussaini, 29, pleaded guilty at the Victorian County Court to recklessly causing serious injury as well as possessing a controlled weapon.
About midnight on 21 October 2022, a brawl broke out on the street after Hussaini and his friend were both struck in the head by the victim for unknown reasons.
A person handed a knife to Hussaini, who with a group pursued the man.
The victim desperately tried in vain to enter a taxi and then took off his belt and whipped it in an attempt to protect himself.
In a scuffle, Hussaini stabbed him once in the back, and the victim managed to flee into the path of oncoming traffic.
In the middle of a busy intersection, Hussaini caught the victim and stabbed him again twice in the back.
Fortunately, a police car was driving by and prevented further harm to the seriously injured man, Judge Diana Manova noted in sentencing on 5 March.
Officers gave him first aid before he was taken by ambulance to The Alfred hospital – where he stayed four days and underwent surgery.
Hussaini was later arrested at home. In an interview, he denied having a knife and claimed he’d had five drinks. He couldn’t remember the incident but wasn’t drunk, he told police.
Judge Manovaran said it was a terrible, terrifying ordeal for the “defenceless” man – even if he was the “initial aggressor”.
She didn’t accept a defence submission that the then-intoxicated Hussaini acted out of fear of further attack.
At 16, Hussaini had arrived by boat in Australia from Afghanistan and Pakistan on a humanitarian visa.
He was said to be suffering PTSD and anxiety from events, including being injured in a bomb blast while praying in Pakistan.
He’d worked in the meat and security industries – the latter exposing him to drug and alcohol use, according to his defence.
Since the incident, Hussaini had moved closer to family members in South Australia and had not offended since.
His rehabilitation prospects were tied to overcoming his PTSD and substance issues, Judge Manova said.
The judge noted Hussaini was legally blind, which would make his jail term more onerous.
As would the risk of being deported as a result of his conviction.
He was jailed for up to five years, with a non-parole period of two years and 10 months.
