Thursday, July 30, 2009

Robber who murders victim - jailed for only 10 years

AustThis is Dr. Cao's photo - he was murdered on his way to work by a couple of bored young men who wanted a mobile phone. One of them was sentenced today for the robbery and murder for 15 years.

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15 years for wantonly killing an innocent man. Somehow it doesn't strike me as justice. But it seems the court is more worried about the attack being racist.
Fubar!!! Murder is Murder. The color of the skin should not be the issue. The fact remains that an innocent man walking home from work was attacked, beaten, and killed by a couple of thugs. And all this murderer got was 15 years and he may be out on parole in 10. The murderer took away a life of promise and hope, a skilled worker who had decades of fulfilling work ahead of him.The price for his life is 15 or 10 years in jail.
There will be no rallies for Dr. Cao. There will be no charities set up to remember his name. There will be no one minute silence in Australia's Parliaments. No public figure will shed a tear for him. The Australian politicians/judges/lawyers will look you in the eye and say, "Tragedy... blah blah blah... condolences to... blah... But well hey its just a statistic, an aberration. Melbourne is really a very safe place."
Easy for them to say. But they have a responsibility to process laws which are just. Otherwise its not a justice system is it?

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A Melbourne man who killed a university researcher in a racially motivated gang assault last year has been jailed for 15 years.
John Caratozzolo, 21, of Melton South told his group of friends he wanted to get a mobile phone from an Indian student, because they had better phones.
They then attacked 41-year-old Dr Zhongjun Cao, who they took to be of Indian descent, although he was actually Chinese.
The court heard Caratozzolo and a group of six others set upon Dr Cao as he walked home from his work at Victoria University, Footscray, last January. Dr Cao fell to the ground before a laughing Caratozzolo kicked him in the head with enough force to damage his own foot.
Sentencing Caratozzolo in the Supreme Court this morning, Justice David Harper said racially motivated attacks had no place in a multicultural society like Australia, which celebrated its diversity.
Justice Harper said Caratozzolo’s attack was ‘‘intended to inflict as much gratuitous pain to increase pleasure’’ and his actions had increased everyone’s fear.
‘‘Everyone in this city, state and this country — visitors, students, residents, everyone — whatever race or gender or beliefs, has the right to walk its streets without fear,’’ he said.
‘‘This is a fundamental right that all of us are entitled to take for granted.’’
Justice Harper said a second assault by Caratozzolo on another victim that night was also racist; saying Caratozzolo had learnt to swear at Indians in Hindi and learnt words and phrases ‘‘designed to cause maximum offence’’.
Caratozzolo will be eligible for parole in 10 years and has already served 549 days in custody.

5 comments:

cy tan said...

Rediculous!

Kathleen Ang said...

Killers are idiot. They thought he was Indian.

And should they be doing this in Singapore, death be unto them.

Yauming YMC said...

They wouldn't do it in Singapore, oh no. But over in Australia they've got a more relaxed and friendly view of murderers and violent scum.

Kathleen Ang said...

Well, Melbourne has been getting less and less safe recently, so it seems from the newspapers.

It's just so sad that the judges forgot about the victim's family. Who going to take care of them now? All the idiot got is 10 years, he needs to show his remorse by working in jail and giving everything he earns from jail to the family. And that wouldn't even be enough.

Yauming YMC said...

That'd probably be against his rights as a prisoner. Its a fubar system here.