A 41-year-old man will serve eight months in a WA prison for assaulting two Serco Detention Security Officers and a fellow detainee at Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre.
The man was sentenced in Perth Magistrate’s Court on Friday (17 July) after pleading guilty to three separate violent incidents this year at the centre in Northam, north-east of Perth.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) arrested the 41-year-old on 19 April 2020 and charged him with attacking one security officer.
The 41-year-old had approached the man and punched him repeatedly in the head, before grabbing him around the neck and dragging him to the floor.
He let the security officer go but then followed him and punched him again several times.
The victim was treated at hospital for minor injuries.
AFP officers also investigated two earlier assaults committed by the 41-year-old.
He was charged over the three incidents with two counts of causing harm to a Commonwealth Public Official and one count of common assault.
For the April assault on the officer he was sentenced to a year’s jail, to be released after five months on a $1000 12-month good behaviour bond.
He was sentenced to eight months’ jail, to serve four before being released on a $1000 12-month good behaviour bond, for the earlier attack on the other security officer.
The magistrate fined him $500 for the common assault, taking into account time already spent in custody.
The ABF is committed to ensuring the safety and security of people who are accommodated at, visit or work in immigration detention facilities.
The ABF supports AFP investigations into matters such as this, and will respond swiftly to anyone engaging in violent or criminal behaviour to ensure the good order of the immigration detention network.
The 41-year-old has been in prison since his arrest but the sentences, which will be served concurrently, were not backdated.
