Logan man assaults mum, sister, grandad after drinking ouzo

A Logan man flew into a bizarre and sickening rage which has seen him jailed. It all started with a bottle of spirits as he watched Big Brother with his family.

A Logan man who had consumed a bottle of ouzo and was halfway through a bottle of white rum flew into such a rage when his mother tried to hide his drink, he choked and bashed her and his sister, as well as threw a ladder into his frail grandfather’s chest.

The unemployed Waterford West man aged 26, who the Albert & Logan News has chosen not to name to protect the identity of his distraught family, was jailed in Beenleigh District Court today for three years.

However, he will be released on parole next month on April 10 after he will have served 10 months of the sentence, having been in custody since June 11 last year.

He pleaded guilty to two counts each of choking and assault occasioning bodily harm, and one count each of assault occasioning bodily harm armed with an offensive weapon, common assault, contravening a DVO and contravening a police protection order.

The court heard the sickening outburst occurred from about 8.30pm on June 10 last year at the family’s Waterford West home, where he lived with his mother and grandfather.

Beenleigh District Court heard a 26-year-old man brutalised his family after drinking ouzo for the first time. Picture: File

The man, an alcoholic who would consume up to two bottles of wine plus rum in a single sitting, became abusive towards his mother and sister, who was visiting, while they were watching Big Brother together.

His behaviour degenerated to the point the man’s mother, who had undergone surgery the week prior, hid his half-empty bottle of white rum in the laundry to prevent him from becoming even more intoxicated.

The man began yelling out, “Where’s my drink?” a number of times before grabbing his mother from behind around the neck and knocking her forward onto her knees, repeatedly forcing her head towards the ground, screaming at her to “get my drink”.

He then pushed the mother over backwards, hard onto her tailbone, and kept pushing her into the ground.

His sister then attempted to intervene, at which point the man grabbed her by the throat and began squeezing.

When the mother attempted to get up, he pushed her back onto the ground and then returned his attention to his sister, who he pushed onto the ground and then stood over, again asking for his drink.

The man’s frail 83-year-old grandfather then entered the room and hit the man with his walking stick to get him to stop.

The man then grabbed a metal stepladder and threw it into the grandfather’s chest, knocking him to the floor.

He continued to batter his mother and sister before he was eventually placated when the mother told him where the bottle was hidden.

Defence counsel Nicholas Bennett told the court his client, who had very limited criminal history but had been unemployed for about 18 months, was a “grossly intoxicated” man who had acted “grossly disproportionately”.

Mr Bennett said the man began drinking more than he had in the past due to COVID-19, but had never had anger issues like he did that night when drinking other spirits – it was the ouzo which made him “lose his cool”.

Judge Craig Chowdhury expressed surprise the man was even able to stand up after consuming as much alcohol as he did.

Ordinarily, the man would have to serve one-third of the sentence, but he was given a two-month discount for his limited criminal history and prospects of rehabilitation.

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