Junchi Li fronts court after bashing his best friend outside bar

The fate of a Melbourne man who left his buddy bloodied and bruised outside a karaoke bar after seeing him kissing his wife hinges on an appeal against sentence.

Junchi Li is appealing against his four-month jail sentence for bashing his best friend.

A Melbourne dad jailed for nearly killing his best friend outside a karaoke bar after seeing him kissing his wife has been granted bail following a last-minute appeal.

Junchi Li, 26, of Docklands, was sentenced at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday to four months’ imprisonment to be followed by a 12-month community corrections order after pleading guilty to a charge of intentionally causing injury.

The horrific assault took place outside the Princess Pool and Karaoke Bar in Carnegie on the evening of August 12, 2023 after Li and his wife invited the victim to drinks at the venue.

Shortly after midnight, she said Li saw his wife and the victim kissing on the footpath and aggressively walked towards him.

He pushed the victim to the ground, dragged him towards a gutter and kicked him to the head six to seven times.

The victim tried to cover his head with his arms to protect himself while he attempted to get back on his feet but fell on his back.

Junchi Li was heading to jail but filed a last-minute appeal against sentence and secured bail pending appeal.

Li then sat on top of him and repeatedly punched him to the head, despite the intervention of Li’s wife and another person.

Even after two security guards moved him away, Li ran back to the victim and kicked him twice to the head, with the assault lasting between six and seven minutes.

Li told police he assaulted his friend because he saw him kissing his wife. The victim was unresponsive for at least 12 hours after arriving at The Alfred and spent five days in hospital.

Defence lawyer Michael Pena-Rees advocated for a non-custodial sentence given that he was grossly intoxicated at the time, was remorseful, had a young family and that he tried to reach out to the victim.

But Magistrate Rohan Lawrence said the attack was brutal and appalling and that Li was lucky not to be facing more serious charges.

“Your anger was understandable but your actions were terrible. Your actions could have killed him,” he said.

Mr Lawrence said perhaps the most despicable aspect of Li’s offending was that despite multiple intervention, he went back to his injured friend and repeatedly stomped on his head

A date for the appeal in County Court is yet to be determined.