By Erin Pearson
An 18-year-old Cranbourne West man who allegedly lured police to his home with a fake triple-zero call to stab an officer has been granted bail after taking his bid for release to the Supreme Court.
Moses Thurairajasingam, 18, appeared before the Supreme Court on Wednesday, where it was revealed it was his third attempt at bail after he was arrested for allegedly stabbing a constable in the leg earlier this month.
Despite police opposing his release on the basis he may attack another emergency services worker, Justice Jane Dixon ordered that he be taken to hospital for an assessment to see if he had undiagnosed mental health issues and required treatment.
“There’s no doubt about it, the consequence could’ve been so much worse. Yes, it’s serious offending,” the judge said. “Either way, I think he was in a state of very severe mental disturbance before doing what he did.”
Police were called to George Frederick Road in Cranbourne West after reports of an aggravated burglary, which they now allege was a hoax to lure officers to the scene.
Footage of the incident, released by the Magistrates’ Court, shows two constables arriving at the property shortly after 5pm on September 3.
“Did you call the police?” Constable Jack Van Brummelen can be heard asking, as a man dressed in dark shorts, a T-shirt and thongs walks towards him with his left hand behind his back.
Thurairajasingam replies “yes” before allegedly lunging at the officer with a knife and stabbing him in the leg, causing a five-centimetre-deep wound.
The officer staggers backwards before falling to the ground, where he can be heard saying: “I’ve been stabbed.”
The incident was captured on the officer’s body-worn camera and a nearby CCTV camera.
Moses Thurairajasingam is accused of stabbing a police officer.
“The accused said he wanted to be shot so he could go to heaven,” police documents allege.
Police seized a black-handled kitchen knife at the scene.
The officer, who had been in the force for 18 months, later underwent surgery.
“This underscores what our members go through every single day they come to work,” Police Association Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said at the time. “They get spat on, they get sworn at, they get stabbed at work.”
Thurairajasingam was previously denied bail twice after being charged with assaulting an emergency worker on duty, intentionally causing serious injury, common law assault and making a false report to police.
Police allege the man’s sister, Abigail, told officers at the scene that hours earlier, her brother had asked whether police would shoot him if he stabbed them.
While giving evidence in the witness box on Wednesday, she said she could no longer recall any such conversation with her brother.
Crown prosecutor Matt Fisher opposed bail, raising concern for the safety of police or other emergency service workers if Thurairajasingam were released into the care of a hospital or his family.
A still from CCTV footage of the incident (top left).
He said there was no guarantee Thurairajasingam would be assessed as needing to be placed on a treatment order and may return home to near where the incident occurred and stay with his family, who acknowledged they had missed warning signs.
Detective Senior Constable Adam Golding also said that the hospital to which Thurairajasingam would be sent was not secure, and people had absconded from it in the past.
“When I was at the Dandenong police station ... we’d often get calls from the hospital about absconded involuntary patients. It could take some time to locate people,” he said. “It’s not a secure [facility].”
Defence lawyer Matthew Cramer said family members would report any concerns to police and remain with Thurairajasingam at the hospital while he was assessed.
And if he wasn’t deemed suitable for ongoing treatment, he said, the 18-year-old could be brought back before the court within 24 hours.
Thurairajasingam’s family denied they had been laissez-faire about the teenager’s mental health in the past.
Dixon ultimately granted Thurairajasingam bail to be taken to hospital by ambulance for a medical assessment.
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