The trial of Torres Billow Aniba continues in the Dalby District Court over alleged assault outside Club Hotel Chinchilla

An onlooker, a security guard, a nurse and an orthopaedic surgeon have been called upon as witnesses in the second day of a grievous bodily harm trial. Find out more.

The trial of a Chinchilla man charged with grievous bodily harm after he allegedly assaulted another man while on a drunken night out has continued in the Dalby District Court on Wednesday.

Torres Billow Aniba pleaded not guilty to one count of grievous bodily harm following an incident on June 26, 2021, where he allegedly struck Frank Roma outside the Club Hotel in Chinchilla, causing him to fall, fracturing his ankle and tearing ligaments.

During the opening day of the trial the jury heard Mr Roma was at the pub drinking with some friends when he allegedly got into a heated argument with Chris Thompson, a man described by Mr Roma as “huge and twice his size” and the brother-in-law of Mr Aniba.

Mr Roma said although his memory was foggy he believed the argument had something to do with Mr Aniba and Mr Thompson’s partner.

It was then alleged in court that Mr Thompson struck Mr Roma to the face causing him to back-pedal and climb over the hotel’s veranda to leave the scene.

After leaving the scene it was alleged Mr Aniba struck Mr Roma causing him to fall and sustain injuries.

In the second day of the trial on Wednesday Crown Prosecutor Monique Bros-Wilshire called upon her first witness Aaron Beck a security guard who was working at the Club Hotel Chinchilla on the night of the alleged incident.

Mr Beck told the court he had seen the initial fight between Mr Roma and Mr Thompson before rushing onto the veranda to get in between the pair.

He said he had urged Mr Roma who he said had blood on his face to climb over the balcony to leave the scene.

Mr Beck told the court Mr Roma had then began to walk away from the Club Hotel towards the bottle shop with Mr Thompson following behind him shouting and pointing his finger.

Mr Beck said he saw Mr Aniba run past him and strike Mr Roma although he couldn't tell if it was to the back of the head or the face which caused him to stumble into the gutter.

He said Mr Aniba had then left the scene while he waited with Mr Roma until the ambulance arrived.

During cross examination defence lawyer Frank Martin pulled up CCTV footage of the incident and asked Mr Beck to point out himself, Mr Roma, Mr Thompson and Mr Aniba.

Mr Martin called into question the visibility at the time of the alleged attack as well as the group of up to 20 people who were around when Mr Roma ended up in the gutter.

Crown Prosecutor Monique Bros-Wilshire then called upon Francis Cox a nurse who treated Mr Roma at the Chinchilla hospital.

Ms Cox said she had no recollection of the event but drew upon her medical notes which said Mr Roma had told her he had been “punched in the face and tripped over hurting his ankle.”

She also said she had noted him being “alert but smelling strongly of alcohol”.

Finally the prosecution called upon an Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr Brant Monaghan who was working out of the Toowoomba Base Hospital where Mr Roma was transported for treatment.

The court heard Mr Roma had surgery on the ankle, which left untreated could have resulted in life long damage.

Crown Prosecutor Monique Bros-Wilshire asked Mr Monaghan, “if someone was struck and fell down is that a way in which this injury could occur” to which he replied “yes it is very possible.”

During cross examination Mr Martin asked if this same injury could be sustained in other ways such as stumbling while walking which he also agreed with.

The prosecution then closed their case.

The trial is expected to conclude tomorrow.