Kahn Meyers: Mildura man set mate on fire on Tenth St over wrong petrol

A man had to take himself to hospital, where he was put in an induced coma after his mate set him alight for a simple mistake.

A court has heard a lighter was used to set a man on fire in Mildura.

A friend was set on fire in a Mildura yard after spending $7 on the wrong kind of petrol, a court has heard.

Mildura man Kahn Meyers, 20, pleaded guilty in the County Court to recklessly causing serious injury.

The court heard Meyers had given the friend $7 to buy petrol for his lawnmower on July 20 last year.

When the friend returned to the Tenth St property with unleaded instead of two-stroke petrol, Meyers became angry.

“I’m going to set you on fire,” Meyers told the friend.

The court was told Meyers doused petrol from the yellow jerry can onto the other man’s crotch and lower jumper, before being interrupted by someone else arriving at the property.

The court heard some time later Meyers used a garden hose to create a puddle of water in the yard and told his victim, “if it gets too big … roll on the grass”.

The court was told Meyers pulled out a lighter and attempted to ignite the victim’s pants but the petrol had dried.

Meyers then poured more petrol on his victim, who had removed his jumper due to it being soaked, and used the lighter to ignite the petrol around the victim’s crotch, the court heard.

The victim was said to have burst into flames so high they rose above his head.

The court was told Meyers used the garden hose to extinguish the victim, wrestling him into the puddle of water, before running him a cold shower.

An ambulance wasn’t called.

The court heard Meyers instructed another friend to go to a chemist to buy burns cream — but the chemist advised the victim needed to be taken to hospital.

The court heard Meyers told his victim to give a false account of what had happened, by saying the injuries were the result of a cigarette falling into the lawnmower.

The victim attended Mildura Base Hospital, where he was transferred to the intensive care unit and placed in an induced coma.

The court was told he sustained burns to 20.5 per cent of his body and had to be transferred to The Alfred hospital burns unit in Melbourne.

In a statement the victim said he was profoundly affected by the incident and Meyer’s failure to call an ambulance had exacerbated his excruciating pain.

The court heard Meyers dropped out of school in Year 6 and had a longstanding drug-taking history.

Meyers’ counsel sought to argue he had a mental impairment that reduced his moral culpability.

However, Judge Justin Hannebery said the preparation of a water puddle suggested Meyers had an understanding of the probable consequences of his actions.

Judge Hannebery told Meyers his actions were unprovoked, “utterly unjustified” and “inexplicably cruel”.

“He posed you no threat,” Judge Hannebery told Meyers.

“He had done nothing but try to help you.”

Meyers was convicted and sentenced to three years and nine months in prison, with a non-parole period of two years and three months.

He had already served 280 days in pre-sentence detention.

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