Here Come The Habibs! star Sam Al Haje awarded $450k for punch caught on camera

Shocking video footage has been aired in court showing the moment a man punches an Aussie TV actor in the face, fracturing his cheekbone.

Shocking video footage has emerged of the moment an Aussie TV actor was punched in the face outside his Sydney home, resulting in a court awarding him almost half a million dollars in compensation.

Wasim Al Haje, better known as Sam Al Haje, one of the stars of the controversial 2016 sitcom Here Come The Habibs!, was left bloodied, bruised and with permanent facial damage from a fractured cheekbone after being punched by Mohammad Elassaad on the morning of January 24, 2021.

CCTV footage of the incident, aired in the NSW Supreme Court and obtained exclusively by The Sunday Telegraph, shows Mr Al Haje and his elderly father Alan grappling with Mr Elassaad in the driveway of their family home in Greenacre during a dispute over payment for dental work.

Mr Elassaad is then seen to use his left fist to quickly strike the younger Mr Al Haje to the right side of his face, causing the latter to grab his eye with both hands and double over in pain.

Mr Al Haje sued Mr Elassaad in the NSW Supreme Court for damages, saying his TV and acting work since the assault had been “limited” and he’d been left with PTSD from the attack.

Sam Al Haje (l to r), Tyler De Nawi, Rob Shehadie and Kat Hoyos in Here Come The Habibs! Picture: Supplied

The court heard when interviewed by police on body-worn camera after the attack, Mr Elassaad — a qualified lawyer who previously worked as a quantitative analyst at the London Stock Exchange prior to the Covid pandemic — claimed he had been “ambushed” by the father and son duo, and had been forced to act in self defence.

However, Acting Justice Michael Elkaim rejected Mr Elassaad’s version of events, labelling him an “unsatisfactory witness” and finding on the balance of probabilities that the punches he threw had been “intentional, forceful and intended to cause injury”.

A screenshot of the video played in court and released to The Sunday Telegraph.

El Haje was bloodied, bruised and sustained a fractured cheekbone.

“Despite his assertions that he was being ambushed and wanted to get away, (Mr Elassaad) did no such thing but rather continued his aggressive approach,” Justice Elkaim said.

He awarded Mr Al Haje $454,340 in compensation, covering general damages, past and future economic losses, and medical expenses.

In his judgment, Justice Elkaim revealed Mr Elassaad and Mr Al Haje’s older brother Mohammad had been childhood friends, but had gotten into a fight two weeks prior to the incident.

The melee had resulted in Mohammad head-butting Mr Elassaad in the face, causing Mr Elassaad to lose both front teeth.

Al Haje told the court his injuries and PTSD from the attack had prevented him getting acting work. Picture: Supplied

The court heard Mr Al Haje Snr offered to pay to fix Mr Elassaad’s teeth if he didn’t report the assault to police and Mr Elassaad agreed, saying he would speak to his dentist.

However, Justice Elkaim said it appeared by January 24 there had been a breakdown in the agreement and Mr Al Haje Snr was no longer willing to pay the $7000 repair bill.

The court heard Mr Elassaad arrived at the house that morning to speak to Mr Al Haje Snr and his son but the conversation grew heated, resulting in Mr Elassaad punching the younger man once inside the house, and then again in the driveway.

Only the second punch was caught on camera, the court was told.

Mr Elassaad was arrested by police and hit with charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and reckless grievous bodily harm, despite his self-defence claims.

He was subsequently found not guilty of the charges — on the criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt — following a hearing in Bankstown Local Court in December 2022.

Justice Elkaim said in determining the compensation amount, he took into account that Mr Al Haje’s had suffered a degree of post-traumatic stress as a result of the assault, and that his acting work had dried up.

He noted Mr Al Haje’s most prominent role — the character Toufic Habib on Here Come The Habibs! — had led him to audition for Hollywood films, perform in travelling stage shows and commercials, and teach casually at his old acting studio.

However, the court heard Al Haje’s agent had “dropped” him in December 2022 due to lack of work, and he was currently a full-time carer for his sick mother, earning $1096 a fortnight.

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