Mansis Bandi bites woman’s finger off in Cranbourne South fight
A mum has chomped off part of a woman’s finger as the pair drunkenly punched, bit and scratched each other at a Cranbourne South barbie.
South East
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A middle-aged woman has bitten off part of her friend’s finger during a drunken brawl at a Cranbourne South barbecue, a court has heard.
Mansis Bandi, 50, fronted the County Court on Wednesday, January 13, pleading guilty to one charge of recklessly causing serious injury.
Bandi left a woman in her 40s with a partly-amputated finger among other injuries after the wild fight at a Cranbourne South farm in the early hours of Sunday, October 15, 2017.
The court heard the two women got into a physical altercation in which they both wrestled on the ground, threw punches, scratched at each other’s face and neck and bit each other’s fingers.
It was heard the victim approached Bandi’s car and initiated the fight as Bandi returned to the property to retrieve her mobile phone after previously leaving the social gathering.
The victim banged on the car and told Bandi to get out before the fight began.
During the fight Bandi bit down hard on the victim’s fingers and continued to bite down harder after the victim yelled at her to let go.
Soon after the altercation ended Bandi and her partner drove away from the property and the victim went to Casey Hospital.
The victim needed surgery to repair her finger, which required further amputation, and surgery for a 5cm cut to her head.
She also suffered scratches and abrasions to her face and chest.
Bandi went to Cranbourne police station to report being assaulted by the woman, presenting with scratches to her face, back and arm. Her left index finger had also been bitten.
The court heard the women, both from Papua New Guinea, had known each other since childhood and that their relationship had turned sour since Bandi started dating her partner at the time.
Bandi’s lawyer said his client bit the woman’s fingers to get the woman off of her, calling it excessive self-defence, and pointed out both women suffered similar injuries.
“Except that the victim in this matter suffered an amputation of the finger,” Judge George Georgiou said.
It was heard Bandi was a grandmother who lived in Maffar on weekdays while working packing salad in a factory and had been a volunteer supporting other members of the PNG community.
Bandi’s lawyer said the Pakenham woman had suffered significant health issues since the “out-of-character” incident and asked for her to be handed a fine or good behaviour bond, saying she had already faced the punishment of delay in resolving the matters.
The court heard Bandi had previously been fined for punching and pushing another female and for using a carriage service to harass.
The prosecution argued Bandi should be handed nothing less than a community corrections order.
Bandi will be sentenced at a later date.
