School crash driver ‘should leave city’

By Shaun Inguanzo
A DISTRAUGHT mother has called for the convicted drink driver whose habit led to the amputation of her son’s foot to leave the city after he was handed a suspended sentence.
Taban William Gany, 31, pleaded guilty to four counts of negligently causing serious injury, one count of reckless conduct endangering persons and one count of exceeding the prescribed concentration of alcohol after he drove his car into Dandenong West Primary School in May last year, injuring several school children.
Gany was found to have had a blood-alcohol reading of 0.175, almost four times the legal limit.
Last Friday, Gany was handed a three year suspended sentence for charges after the judge said defence barrister Lachlan Carter argued a ‘most comprehensive and powerful plea in mitigation’ including Gany’s life in war-torn Sudan where his father was murdered.
But the suspended sentence was not the news that six-year-old Sabi Mashid, whose foot was amputated following the crash, and his mother, Farid, were hoping for.
“We are not happy (with the decision). Sabi is especially sad,” Ms Mashid said.
Ms Mashid said Gany should have been jailed because many migrants, including her family, came to Australia bearing troubled pasts, but did not turn to alcohol.
“He must go to jail…we all came here because we had problems (in our countries),” she said.
Ms Mashid said Gany was ‘a very dangerous man’ now he was allowed to walk the streets.
She stopped short of saying Gany should leave the country but called for him to leave the city.
“I don’t know (if he should leave Australia) but I know he should not be in Dandenong,” she said.
“It is not useful for Sabi. Now his life is ruined.
“He can’t play and he is very sad.”
Ms Mashid said her son had dreams of becoming a star cricketer but was now suffering from pain where his foot was amputated and was unable to play for more than 15 or 20 minutes at a time.
“He gets pain in his foot, then he cries and tells me ‘I can’t play’.
“But Sabi never shows it (in front of others).”