Carlos Lam sentenced after slashing guard with razor blade highlighter at Port Phillip Prison

A violent teen unleashed a “horrific” attack on a Victorian prison guard by repeatedly stabbing him in the face with a shiv fashioned out of a highlighter and a razor blade.

The prison guard suffered a number of “deep” lacerations to the face, neck and head after being slashed with the razor blade. Picture: Victoria Police

A violent teen stabbed a Victorian prison guard in the face nearly half a dozen times with a shiv fashioned out of a humble highlighter and a razor blade.

Carlos Lam was sentenced in the County Court last week to at least 20 more months behind bars over the “horrific and cowardly” attack he inflicted upon the guard.

The court heard the 19-year-old was an inmate at Port Phillip Prison when he entered one of the officer stations at the maximum security jail on July 20 last year.

Two guards, Mr Masoe and Mr Dyett, were sitting in the station when one yelled “Lam, get the f--k out of here”.

But instead the inmate walked right up to Mr Masoe and stabbed him in the face three to four times with the weapon.

The officers attempted to restrain Lam but CCTV captured him swapping the highlighter from his right hand to his left hand, before using it to slash Mr Masoe’s head.

The court heard that in those moments, the officer believed he was going to die.

The razor blade was attached to the tip of the highlighter. Picture: Victoria Police

Lam would later telling a youth justice worker his 30-year-old victim “deserved” the injuries he sustained, namely a number of “deep” lacerations to the face, neck and head.

In April last year, Lam was remanded in custody after committing offences including theft, robbery, burglary and recklessly causing injury.

The attack on the guard occurred three months after he landed in adult prison.

The Herald Sun last year revealed that a possible motivation for the incident was a desire to join a violent jailhouse gang called G-Fam.

Attacking a guard is a requirement for joining G-Fam.

The gang is an emerging force in the prison system and has been responsible for numerous attacks on staff and other inmates.

The attack occurred at Port Phillip Prison on July 20 last year. Picture: Nicole Garmston

Lam, who pleaded guilty to one charge of intentionally causing injury, was sentenced two years and nine months’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of 20 months.

Judge Pardeep Tiwana described the bladed highlighter as an improvised weapon capable of inflicting “grave injuries”.

“Your offending was premeditated. The assault that you engaged was relatively sustained, involving repeated stabbing motions to the victim’s face, including to a vulnerable part of his body, the neck,” he said.

“Despite your victim and Mr Dyett attempting to restrain you, you continued to resist and slashed your victim’s head with the weapon.”

Judge Tiwana said he wanted to send a clear message to prisoners that if they engage in violence against prison officers “they will be punished by the imposition of terms of imprisonment”.

Lam, as a dual citizen of Samoa and New Zealand, faces the prospect of being deported upon release.