Hussein Saleh: Bexley builder granted bail after sentenced for road rage in Carlton Covid queue

A builder jailed for sickening road rage attack in a Covid testing line, in which he stomped on the head of the victim through a sunroof, has been granted bail as he waits to appeal his sentence.

A builder jailed for sickening road rage attack in a Covid testing line, in which he stomped on the head of the victim through a sunroof, has been granted bail as he waits to appeal his sentence.

Hussein Saleh, 34, has been in jail for 10 days after being sentenced to 22 months jail with an 14 month non parole period after he pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault and damaging property for the attack at Carlton, in Sydney’s south.

Ali Salim, 35, was sentenced to 18 months jail with an 11 month non parole period after pleading guilty to assault charges. He has also appealed his sentence and was previously granted bail.

On sentencing, the court heard the men were called to the scene of the attack by Saleh’s wife who had been approached and repeatedly honked at in the Covid testing line by a man and woman after she cut in front of them.

The duo arrived in a white truck and stopped next to the victim’s car. Saleh immediately attempted to smash the driver’s window with a screwdriver, without talking to the couple first. Saleh broke the driver’s side mirror and Salim got into the back seat and punched the driver in the head, causing bruising and pain.

Hussein Saleh (left) and Ali Salim (right) pleaded guilty and were sentenced in Sutherland Local Court. Picture: Ashleigh Tullis

Saleh climbed onto the car and punched the driver in the head through the sunroof before he stood inside it and stomped his foot, hitting the driver and the passenger.

The mates left the vehicle and police arrived a short time later and everyone was told to leave before officers reviewed the CCTV footage.

Hussein Saleh clambers on top of the car and rains blows on the driver through the vehicle's sunroof. Pictures: Supplied

During the sentence, Magistrate Hugh Donnelly said the footage was “shocking” and the attack was “cowardly and vicious” executed with a “high degree of violence”.

“The attack was sustained, ferocious and for a long duration. The victims were confined, trapped and defenceless … and it occurred without warning,” he said

Saleh applied for bail in Downing Centre District Court on Tuesday with the court hearing he was married with one child and another on the way.

The court heard the 34-year-old was a self-employed builder who hired more than a dozen sub contractors and needed to be at liberty to run his business.

The Crown opposed bail noting there was a risk of Saleh failing to appear given he was sentenced to a “significant term of imprisonment”, which was unlikely to be changed to a jail sentence served in the community.

Judge Timothy Gartelmann took into account Saleh had no previous convictions and had not breached his bail since the assault.

He said the risks could be mitigated by Saleh living at his Bexley residence, reporting to police three times a week and must abide by an apprehended violence order to not contact the victims.

The appeal will be heard on June 27.