Claire Harvey: John Ibrahim’s “busy” text is a relationship warning to women everywhere
Regardless of what the jury decides about Sarah Budge’s gun charges — all Sydney is talking about is John Ibrahim’s “busy” text. It is a relationship lesson to women everywhere, writes Claire Harvey.
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Lady, you can do so much better.
Sarah Budge is awaiting the verdict of a jury on a gun possession charge, after the comprehensive dissection in the Downing Centre District Court of her six-year relationship with boyfriend John Ibrahim.
Ibrahim, it’s important to note, is not a criminal. He’s a very smart businessman. But clearly he’s just not that into Sarah.
That’s really the only explanation — not just for the string of texts tendered in court in which Ibrahim belittles or dismisses her, but for the fact nobody from his world has come forward to claim ownership of the gun found in her wardrobe.
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Budge, who runs a restaurant/bar in Kings Cross, pleaded not guilty has vehemently denied any knowledge of it.
But I think it’s fair to suggest that if Budge had never met Ibrahim, there wouldn’t be a Glock in a teacup box among her Manolos.
Budge has herself said in court it could only have found its way into the wardrobe because of her connection with Ibrahim, and her defence lawyer told the jury “it is the defence case that Mr Ibrahim or someone he knew placed the gun in the accused’s bedroom in the bottom of her wardrobe”.
I’m not suggesting Ibrahim is the ‘Male One’ whose DNA police found on the gun and on a strip of eyebrow wax containing an associate’s eyebrows that police found at his home.
Ibrahim has never been convicted of a crime, and fiercely defends his reputation as a legitimate businessman.
But you’d think he might have made sure someone came forward to save his girlfriend from a potential jail term.
Budge told the court: “I asked if he put the gun in my house because I wanted to know what was going on and why I was in this position. I had to ask him because I thought he would be the only person who knew how it got there.
“He told me that he knew and he wasn’t going to tell me any more information … He knew but it was best I didn’t know.”
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Budge wouldn’t be the first beautiful woman to love a powerful man, no matter how shabbily he treats her.
“The human heart doesn’t always obey the laws of logic,” Budge’s barrister, Simon Buchen SC, told the jury on Thursday,
“She is a conflicted person, she holds suspicions,” defence barrister Simon Buchen SC said. “She still wants to think the best of Mr Ibrahim, who she wants to have a child with.”
That’s very nice of Budge. But I can’t imagine why you’d want to have a baby with a bloke who doesn’t even respond to your text messages.
On August 7, just before the raid, Budge messaged: “Hello, remember me?” Ibrahim replied: “Busy.”
On August 6, she had told him: “Thanks for ditching and not even answering to speak to me. Awesome, when I just told you mum was back in hospital and you know the type of week I’m about to have, and I didn’t sleep last night. Lucky I’m not weak.”
On July 30, when she asked why he wasn’t responding, he replied: “not answering means I don’t want to talk to you.”
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And on July 21, she said: “Now I won’t get to see you before you go away. You want me working, that means I’m only free on the weekend … I’m never going to see you unless you actually start planning ahead and being fair.
“At home now in tears … surely you can see I don’t want to be alone.”
I’d say being alone, from now on, will be the least of Sarah Budge’s problems.
Claire Harvey is the deputy editor of The Sunday Telegraph.