Vijitharan Mahendran pleads guilty to assaulting police and resisting arrest after drunk argument

A wild drunk who threw punches at police after a brawl involving men armed with bats and planks is an asylum seeker wanting Australian protection.

A Sri Lankan asylum seeker desperate for Australian protection assaulted police after a drunken brawl involving a group of men armed with bats and wooden planks.

Vijitharan Mahendran was fined but escaped conviction at the Sunshine Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to resisting arrest and assaulting an officer while he was drunk and disorderly in 2019.

The court heard that Mahendran, a Tamil man, arrived in Australia by boat in 2012 and intends to apply for a protection visa after fleeing persecution in Sri Lanka.

Vijitharan Mahendran Picture: Leader

The court heard Mahendran attended a gathering at a property on Summer St, Deer Park on the night of March 15 where he became involved in a loud altercation in the street which resulted in multiple triple-0 calls from neighbouring properties.

The court heard that witnesses believed an armed burglary was taking place when they saw four men in the street swearing and screaming in a foreign language while holding bats and planks of wood.

When police arrived, most of the men had fled the scene but Mahendran and another man were found nearby hiding in bushes.

The court heard the 36-year-old then approached plain-clothed officers aggressively while heavily intoxicated and swung at police with a clenched fist but did not make contact.

While officers tried to restrain his arm, he swung at them with the other.

Mahendran was fined $2500 after pleading guilty at Sunshine Magistrates' Court. Picture: Ellen Smith

On the night of November 5, police attended Mahendran’s address for other matters when he was again heavily intoxicated and resisted arrest.

His lawyer, Cameron Marshall said the matters were quite dated and his client had limited his alcohol use since the incidents.

Mr Marshall said in the first incident Mahendran was confused following the earlier altercation and did not know the plain-clothed officers who arrived in an unmarked vehicle were in fact police.

He told Magistrate Cecily Hollingworth that his client now works as a caravan manufacturer in Campbellfield.

Magistrate Hollingworth said it was clear alcohol was a contributing factor on both nights and questioned why Mahendran had not engaged formal help to address his problems.

He was fined $2500.

No conviction was recorded.