17 days in hospital after Leagues Club violence

A man was charged with affray at the Ballarat Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, following an altercation outside the Ballarat Leagues Club before 9.30pm on 24 January 24, 2020.

According to the police summary, Andrew McBain was involved in a verbal altercation. He then punched one man in the head, causing him to fall and hit his head on the gutter.

McBain then walked away but returned and had another altercation where he punched another man in the head.

A number of patrons had walked out of the club to see what was happening, but McBain fled the scene.

Paramedics attended the scene transporting both victims to hospital, with one victim remaining in hospital for 17 days and the other enduring substantial blood loss.

The paramedics had reported that everyone involved had been heavily intoxicated.

In his defence, lawyer David Tamanika said McBain remained friends with pone of the victims 'even after such a terrible incident'.

According to Magistrate Jonathan Klestadt, McBain was known to involve himself in violence.

"You are not entitled to use physical force to impose your view about the way somebody should behave," he said.

"Clearly everyone had quite a bit to drink. Every time you behave like this you run the risk of sobering up... and finding yourself charged with causing the death of another person.

Mr Klestadt urged McBain to rethink his drinking behaviour, warning that if he continued to think fighting after a night of drinking was fun, he would end up in jail.

Irit Jackson, 15th April 2021