NRL star Manase Fainu ‘plunged’ knife into church youth leader: court

A man saw an NRL star “plunge” a knife into his flatmate’s back during a wild brawl in a church parking lot, a court has been told.

A churchgoer says he saw an “angry” Manase Fainu plunge a steak knife into his flatmate’s back outside a Mormon dance, a court has been told.

Tony Quach on Thursday told the Parramatta District Court that he saw the Manly Sea Eagles hooker stab youth leader Faamanu Levi during a wild and bloody brawl outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Wattle Grove.

Mr Fainu, 24, has pleaded not guilty to one count of wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, with his defence claiming he had no quarrel with anyone involved in the altercation in October 2019.

Mr Levi previously told the court that he had earlier in the night spoken to two men who were involved in an altercation on the dance floor before they were escorted off church grounds.

It has been alleged that Mr Levi and his friends were later attacked by a group of men in the parking lot as they were standing around his white Honda Civic and preparing to leave.

Manase Fainu has pleaded not guilty to stabbing a man outside a Mormon church dance. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

Tony Quach claims he saw Manase Fainu stab a church leader in the back. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles.

Mr Quach told the jury that he saw four or five men approach his friends.

“When you saw those men walking towards you, did you recognise any of them?” Crown prosecutor Emma Curran asked.

“I recognised Manase,” Mr Quach said.

“How did you recognise Manase?” Ms Curran asked

“The features that he had. So he had a sling,” Mr Quach replied.

The court has previously been told that at the time Mr Fainu had undergone shoulder surgery and his left arm was in a sling.

Mr Quach claimed he had a clear view of Mr Fainu’s face, that he was wearing a cap and had a goatee.

“He looked angry,” Mr Quach said.

Mr Quach said he saw a “big guy” with a mullet, who was not Mr Fainu, challenge them to a one-on-one fight.

He said the “big guy” punched Mr Levi in the face and he heard someone say “he’s got a knife”.

Mr Quach described the scene as “chaos” and “crazy” after one of his friends, Charlie Toilalo, was hit in the face with a baton.

He said he saw a man holding a steak knife with his arm bent at a 90-degree angle.

Mr Quach says he told the “big guy” to “get out, stop it, get out”.

Faamanu Levi was stabbed in the back outside a church dance. Picture: Shannon Tonkin

“After you said ‘stop it, get out’ what happened?” Ms Curran said.

“I saw the knife plunged into Levi’s back,” Mr Quach said.

“Who did you see plunge the knife into Levi’s back?” Ms Curran asked.

“The accused,” Mr Quach said, adding he had an unobstructed view of the attack.

Mr Quach told the court that he saw Mr Fainu move around to the front of Mr Levi and cut him above the right eye.

He said he saw his friend scream in pain and fall to the ground as blood flowed from his shoulder.

“Every time he breathed, (blood) flowed out a lot,” Mr Quach said.

Manase Fainu, with and his lawyers and supporters, says it was a case of mistaken identity. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

Under cross-examination from defence barrister Margaret Cunneen SC, Mr Quach said he knew Mr Fainu by sight and he was “very famous” at the time after seeing Instagram stories posted by his friends about the NRL.

But Ms Cunneen pointed to Mr Quach’s statement to police in which he said he “didn’t know” it was Mr Fainu at the time of the incident.

“After the incident I realised,” Mr Quach said.

Mr Fainu’s defence has argued that it was a case of mistaken identity and the church parking lot was “pitch black” after the lights went out.

However, Mr Quach claimed that the lights were on during the attack and went out about 15 minutes afterwards at 11pm.

“The lights were on,” Mr Quach said.

The trial before Judge Nanette Williams continues on Monday.