Dieu Atem denied bail after allegedly being disturbed mid-attempted burglary by elderly woman
An alleged burglar who was caught in the act by an elderly woman was later chased out of a Beaumaris supermarket by a brave 11-year-old girl.
South East
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A Cranbourne North man whose alleged attempted burglary was foiled an elderly lady was later chased out of a supermarket by an 11-year-old girl after he allegedly stole her mum’s car keys.
Dieu Atem, 25, applied for bail at the Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on January 14, facing charges including aggravated burglary with a person present, trespassing, theft and possession of a controlled weapon.
Mr Atem appeared via video-link from Port Phillip Prison, where he has been on remand since his arrest on New Year’s Day.
The court heard Mr Atem was disturbed on January 1 by a 78-year-old woman after she allegedly caught him in her Beaumaris garage, with her dog alerting her to a strange noise.
The woman told police Mr Atem allegedly stole a tomahawk that belonged to her late husband from the garage.
Police allege CCTV footage from another property in the bayside street captured Mr Atem as he fled on foot.
Police say he later went into the FoodWorks on Balcombe Rd where he allegedly stole a 12 inch kitchen knife.
The court heard Mr Atem allegedly approached a mother and her daughter in the store and attempted to steal their car keys.
Police say the 11-year-old girl challenged Mr Atem and chased him out of the supermarket.
He allegedly ran, dropping the keys and other items he had allegedly attempted to steal in the street.
Police later arrested him and allegedly found the kitchen knife still in his possession.
On Tuesday, police opposed his bail application, saying he was an “unacceptable risk” to the community due to other outstanding allegations combined with this alleged offending.
Detective Senior Constable Steven Hemingway told the court Mr Atem had multiple intervention orders against him after he allegedly “threatened to kill” his friends.
“The threats to kill, drug offences and this dishonesty offending is a combination that is often lethal and leaves a lifelong toll,” Sen Constable Hemingway said.
“He is an extreme risk to the community with an extreme risk of reoffending if granted bail.
“(The risk) can’t be mitigated with any bail conditions.”
The court heard Mr Atem and his older brother Deng were raised by their grandmother after arriving in Australia on humanitarian visas.
Mr Atem would have been released to his brother’s home if he received bail.
Deng said he would alert police if his brother broke bail conditions.
He told the court his brother had suffered significantly after the death of their grandmother.
“We were never taught to handle these emotions that we were experiencing,” Deng said.
Magistrate Luisa Bazzani said she found Deng to be a “sincere and supportive” witness for Mr Atem, however agreed with police.
“He does pose an unacceptable risk to the community,” she said.
The application for bail was denied.
Mr Atem will return to the Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on January 20.
