Woman punched charity boss on flight

UPDATE: A 54-year-old woman —who works for the new Gunner Government — had been drinking before she punched and pulled the hair of a local charity boss on board a Qantas flight.

Jane Davies on her way to a hearing at Darwin Local Court.

A 54-YEAR—OLD woman —who works for the new Gunner Government — had been drinking before she punched and pulled the hair of a local charity boss on board a Qantas flight.

Jane Davies was found guilty in Darwin Local Court on Thursday of committing an act of violence on an aircraft over an altercation with Anglicare NT executive Angela Shima.

The NT News can reveal Davies began working as a receptionist on the Territory Government’s exclusive “fifth floor” about two months ago — well after the mile-high biffo.

The new Government has established mandatory criminal checks before hiring employees.

The Darwin Local Court heard Davies had no criminal history until she was convicted over the the inflight dust up and sources have told the NT News she was well liked in the office.

On Thursday the court heard that Davies was pushing aggressively on Ms Shima’s chair as a Sydney to Darwin flight came in to land.

“I looked (back) between the seats ... the woman behind me reached through the chairs and punched me and then pulled my hair,” Ms Shima said.

“I saw the fist coming.

“I said ‘are you f***ing insane, you hit me because I was looking at you’.”

Commonwealth Prosecutor Patrick Berends said Davies had been drinking before and during the flight.

“That would explain but not justify her actions,” he said.

Judge Michael Carey rejected Davies’s “melodramatic” account of the fight, throughout which she described her victim as a “crazy woman” and the witnesses as “liars”.

“Her eyes were black, she was intimidating,” Davies said of Shima.

“This protagonist was just really aggressive.

“I thought, I’m going into Darwin, probably someone is going to assault me.”

Davies accepted she had been drinking but denied being drunk.

Mr Carey said: “I don’t have any difficulty accepting (Ms Shima’s) version of events.

“I might not have convicted her had she entered a plea of guilty.

“It might have been you’d had too much to drink, it might have been a long flight just getting to you.”

Davies, who had no prior run-ins with the law, was given a 12-month good behaviour bond.