Fali Vaegaau faces sentencing over machete attack in Brierley Crescent, Plumpton

A heavily intoxicated single dad slashed a man’s face with a machete during an unprovoked attack in western Sydney, leaving the victim with vision impairment and a bulging eye.

It’s not clear if the machete was at a house or if the offender brought it with him. Generic picture: iStock

The victim of a western Sydney machete slashing suffered vision impairment and a bulging eye after being attacked by an assailant too drunk to recall his motive, a court has heard.

The unprovoked and violent attack unfolded when single father Fali Vaegaau wandered into a party at a Brierley Cres house, in Plumpton, on a Saturday night in September last year.

He swung the weapon at the 25-year-old victim, slashing the man’s head and causing his eyeball to pop outwards.

During sentencing submissions on Tuesday, Parramatta District Court heard the victim had been on the phone in a garage with his partner when Vaegaau grabbed his collar and swung the weapon at him.

Vaegaau’s lawyer told the court it could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt whether his client attended the house with the machete or if it was already in the garage before the attack at 11.15pm on September 9, 2023.

Broken glass bottles found after the incident. Picture: Monique Harmer

While it was also not possible to determine whether there was any premeditation, the defence lawyer conceded Vaegaau, 30, did not unleash on the victim in self-defence.

In a letter to the court, Vaegaau conceded he was under the influence and so heavily intoxicated he could not recall what drove him to act irrationally and impulsively.

The “explosive violence” was “over in seconds”, the court heard.

Judge Sophia Beckett said there were “very nasty” sutures to the victim’s face, which could have an impact on his self-confidence. She said facial scarring could also draw judgement from others.

The court heard Vaegaau long battled with drugs and alcohol, taking up speed and cocaine when he was 18 before starting to use ice at 21.

Violence was “normalised” in Vaegaau’s community, the court heard as he watched the proceedings via video link from Parklea Correctional Centre.

The court heard the offender’s criminal record included knife and firearm possession offences, but this was his first time in jail.

His lawyer said Vaegaau had been behind bars on remand for 14 months and 18 days.

The prosecution argued it was “unlikely a machete just appeared” in a suburban garage.

Judge Beckett said it might be inferred that was the case, but she was neutral on whether the offender brought it along or if it was already at the scene.

Vaegaau was arrested at his Hebersham house half an hour after the attack.

In September, he pleaded guilty to a charge of wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Judge Beckett is due to sentence him on Thursday.