Daily Telegraph editorial: Bail decision raises eyebrows

One of the most notorious bail cases in NSW history occurred in 2014, when Lindt Cafe hostage taker Man Monis was granted freedom following charges for being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife. Matters evidently have not improved to anywhere near the level required.

Chris Rymer was released on bail because his dog is about to give birth.

One of the most notorious bail cases in NSW history occurred in 2014, when Lindt Cafe hostage taker Man Monis was granted freedom following charges for being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife.

Monis’s girlfriend Amirah Droudis stabbed the terrorist’s ex-wife 18 times and set her alight in an apartment building at Werrington. Yet a judge found the accessory accusation against Monis to be “weak” and let him out on bail. Mere months later, Monis carried a shotgun into Martin Place’s Lindt Cafe and began his deadly, city-changing siege. Droudis was later sentenced to a 44-year jail term for her butchering of Monis’s ex-wife. Outrage over Monis’s bail and The Daily Telegraph’s reporting on other startling bail cases led to a subsequent judicial crackdown, but matters evidently have not improved to anywhere near the level required. This much is clear from the astonishing tale of a former bikie, his Oompa Loompa pyjamas and the pregnant french bulldog. Former senior Penrith Rebel Chris Michael Rymer was arrested on Saturday following an alleged road rage incident. It was an early-morning arrest, so Rymer was still clad in his evening attire — in his case, some delightful Willy Wonka-themed pyjama pants. But Wonka turned to wonky when Parramatta Bail Court heard one of the reasons Rymer was applying for his immediate release.

“He has a dog due to give birth in about five weeks,” Rymer’s lawyer Andrew Sant explained. As well, the former bikie was extremely keen to spend Father’s Day with his children.

These emotional pleas proved too moving to resist, and Rymer won his bail appeal. Touchingly, Rymer was later collected from the Amber Laurel Correctional Centre in Emu Plains by his mother. The details of Rymer’s alleged road rage offence are not crucial at this stage and The Daily Telegraph is not suggesting anything Rymer may have done is on par with Monis. His case will eventually be considered by a jury, and Rymer’s guilt or innocence duly decided.

But it is fair to note that the people of NSW might raise an eyebrow, to say the very least, over the granting of bail due to imminent puppies.

SYDNEY NRL-AFL BONANZA

If you’re planning a hotel stay in central Sydney next weekend, you’d might be well-advised to make that booking a matter of high priority. Because anyone slow off the mark will find themselves outnumbered by tens of thousands of NRL and AFL fans in town for two bonanza finals contests.

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Book now — or miss out.

OUR NON-EXISTENT POLICE

An actual squadron of invisible police would be a stunning boon for NSW authorities. Bandits, thieves and burglars would stand little chance against foes they couldn’t even see.

Unfortunately, NSW’s invisible police are invisible in the sense that they do not exist.

According to the Police Association of NSW, our streets are being patrolled by 900 so-called “ghost cops” — additional forces promised by the government but who remain missing in action. This problem is made significantly more pronounced by Sydney’s rapid growth.

A man is arrested by police in Kings Cross after he was allegedly trying to start fights with strangers, before being detained by police.

When people speak of the pressures on Sydney suburbs due to population increases, they typically describe housing shortages, crowded roads and insufficient public infrastructure. But the pressures are increasing too on law and order.

“By leaving positions unfilled, we are putting undue pressure on frontline police,” Police Association president Tony King explains.

“We are hearing from members across the state that they are at breaking point and the government needs to urgently commit to not just addressing the backlog, but building the state’s policing capacity.”

It’s an urgent issue, and it won’t be improved by looking away.