Paguir Pan wants to change plea over Springvale murder of Winis Apet

A man who pleaded guilty to gunning down his childhood friend, Winis Apet, in Springvale has made a last-ditch effort to fight the murder charge.

Winis Apet, 20, was shot dead in Springvale in March 2019.

A man who admitted to shooting dead his childhood friend has made a drastic attempt to change his plea, just weeks before he was due to be sentenced.

Paguir Pan pleaded guilty earlier this year to the shooting murder of Winis Apet in Springvale in March 2019 and was formally arraigned in the Supreme Court in January.

But less than three weeks before he was due to face a pre-sentence hearing, Pan told the court he “didn’t make the right decision” and now wanted to fight the charge.

Pan, who represented himself, claimed he had not been given the right advice by his previous lawyers – and was in the process of obtaining new solicitors.

It will be his third legal team since he was charged with murder days in the days after Mr Apet’s death.

“The reason I’ve done this is I didn’t have access to all the evidence,” Pan told the court on Tuesday.

“From what I’ve seen, I didn’t have the right advice and I didn’t make the right decision,” he said.

Mr Apet, then 20, died from a single gunshot wound to the chest.

He was found in a pool of blood in the early hours of March 10 after leaving a shisha bar on Springvale Rd and died at the scene.

It is understood the young men had known each other for many years.

Justice Lesley Taylor said there would need to be significant evidence to allow Pan to change his plea.

“Mr Pan you need to understand, you can’t just decide to change your plea, you’ve made a plea of guilty … in law that constitutes very powerful evidence of guilt,” Justice Taylor said.

“It needs to be based on evidence, it can’t just be based on your assertion that you didn’t understand (the legal case),” she said.

The last minute application is a devastating blow for Mr Apet’s family members who had expected a plea hearing to proceed on June 17.

“This matter now has some age to it and there are family members of the deceased who are anxious to have this matter resolved as soon as possible,” Prosecutor Matthew Fisher said.

An application to decide whether or not Pan is granted leave to change his plea will be heard on June 21.