Pascal Paixao loses final appeal for public nuisance conviction

A Coolum Beach man who went on a verbal tirade over a missing receipt has had a major loss in court.

A Coolum Beach man has lost his Supreme Court bid to overturn a public nuisance conviction.

A man convicted of public nuisance after an aggressive outburst at a Coolum Beach bank has fought his case through three courts, only to lose every appeal, with the Supreme Court now rejecting his final bid.

Pascal Paixao was found guilty in the Maroochydore Magistrates Court on November 4, 2021, of public nuisance after a heated exchange at a Coolum Beach bank.

The case stemmed from an incident on October 28, 2020, when Paixao became aggressive after a Coolum Beach bank officer could not print a receipt for a completed transaction, as receipts could only be issued during the original transaction.

According to court evidence, Paixao began yelling and swearing, repeatedly demanding the receipt while raising his arms.

He repeated several times “give me the f-----g receipt,” the court was told.

The court heard Paixao was ranting, red faced, and swearing in front of other customers.

A sign outside the Supreme Court in Brisbane. (AAP Image/Dan Peled)

His behaviour reportedly intimidated staff and other customers, prompting the branch manager to call the police.

Witnesses testified Paixao’s outburst included loud profanities, with one witness describing feeling “intimidated and

scared”.

A staff member attempted to calm Paixao down, but he continued his verbal tirade, the court was told.

When the bank manager called police, Paixo reportedly yelled, “tell her … to cancel … the f--king police call”.

Two officers attended the scene, with body-worn camera footage capturing Paixao’s version of events, in which he denied wrongdoing and blamed the bank for the issue.

Despite multiple warnings from the officers to lower his voice and leave the premises, Paixao refused to comply, leading to his arrest for public nuisance.

After being found guilty of the offence, his appeal to the Maroochydore District Court was dismissed in 2022. He then sought permission to appeal to the Supreme Court, claiming the judge was wrong to reject his case.

Pascal Paixao was found guilty in the Maroochydore Magistrates Court on November 4, 2021, of public nuisance after a heated exchange at a Coolum Beach bank.

During the trial and subsequent appeals, Paixao maintained he was merely asserting his consumer rights and did not intend to cause alarm.

He argued his frustration stemmed from the bank’s failure to provide a receipt for his transaction, which he believed was essential for his financial records.

Paixao claimed that his actions were not threatening and that the police response was disproportionate.

He also said his arrest was unjustified, as he had not engaged in physical aggression and was simply expressing his dissatisfaction.

Paixao said his use of strong language was a response to what he perceived as a lack of accountability by the bank staff rather than an intention to disturb the peace.

Paixao represented himself throughout the legal proceedings, arguing on appeal that the evidence was insufficient to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, he was denied procedural fairness and that a reasonable observer would have perceived bias from the Magistrate.

On February 18, 2025, the Court of Appeal rejected Paixao’s application and ordered him to pay costs.

The court emphasised an applicant must demonstrate a substantial injustice and a reasonable argument for correcting an error to obtain leave to appeal, criteria that were not met in this case.