Nur Islam jailed for at least 7 years for fireball attack on Springvale Commonwealth Bank
A man who set himself on fire inside a Melbourne bank, sparking pandemonium and injuring dozens of people, has been jailed for at least seven years. One badly-scarred victim described himself as a “broken man” who would never recover from the trauma.
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A man who set himself on fire inside a Melbourne bank, sparking pandemonium and injuring dozens of people, has been jailed for at least seven years.
Nur Islam, 24, turned himself into a human fireball at the Springvale Commonwealth Bank in November 2016 after becoming angry about waiting for service.
CCTV captured him walking to a nearby service station where he purchased 11 litres of petrol, returning to the bank and pouring it over the floor about 11.30am.
He then pulled out a lighter, bent down and ignited the fuel.
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County Court Judge Howard Mason said the footage was “dramatic and sickening viewing”.
“The petrol exploded in flames. The bank started filling up with heavy black smoke,” Judge Mason told Islam as he today handed down his 11-year sentence with a non-parole period of seven years.
“People in your path fled from you. People ran choking and burning. They thought they were going to die.
“Some people, fearing for their safety, ran through the fire to escape.
“One woman with a child in a pusher narrowly missed combustion as she ran past.”
Judge Mason said the 39 people in the bank had been left traumatised by Islam’s six minutes of terror, with some describing life-changing burn injuries to their face and hands, panic attacks, flashbacks of smelling burning, and loss of trust.
He said there was “no rational explanation for your bizarre and careless attack”.
Islam, a Myanmar Rohingyan asylum seeker, had smoked ice the night before his rampage.
In a police interview, he could give no explanation for his behaviour except to say he was “angry” after initially waiting in a queue for 13 minutes, only to not have his card work.
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A staff member tried to help him, taking him outside to an ATM, but he needed to reactivate his PIN. He eventually withdrew his entire savings of $442 over the counter.
Islam pleaded guilty to one count of arson, four counts of causing serious injury recklessly, and 11 of causing injury recklessly.
In a plea hearing last week, the victim impact statement of grandfather Choy Hok, then 71, told of how he was a “broken man” who will never recover.
He described looking in the mirror and seeing “a freak” and how the public look at him “like I was a monster” because of his extensive burn injuries to his face.
Judge Mason said, in sentencing, he took into consideration Islam had suffered burns to 60 per cent of his body and spent five months in hospital after the attack.
“You were the most significantly burnt. Your scarring will be a constant reminder of your offending,” he told Islam.
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He also considered his guilty plea, isolation in prison, having no family in Australia, and the fact he faces deportation on his release.
Outside court, Sergeant Matthew Rizun said the sentence could bring some closure to the victims who were left traumatised by the “bizarre and callous” attack.
“I think it’s just good it’s over for the victims,” Sgt Rizun said talking of the court proceedings.
“They had a lot of trouble dealing with the incident. It’s really put their lives upside down.”
But he said, as indicated in many of their victim impact statements tendered in court, they will continue to suffer physically and emotionally for the rest of their lives.