‘Disappointing’: Mother of abducted Glen Eira College schoolboy slams sentence

The mother of a teenager left with permanent brain damage from a horror abduction says there is no justice after one offender was freed after less than six months in custody.

The mother of a schoolboy seriously injured in a violent abduction says there is no justice after one of her son’s assailants was freed having spent just six months in custody.

Glen Eira College student Benjamin Phikhohpoom suffered permanent brain damage and spent a week in a coma when a gang of youths bundled him into a stolen car before he was dragged and flung to the ground at high speed as he walked home from school in September last year.

At a children’s court on Wednesday, the last of three offenders involved in the horror incident was handed a three-month youth attendance order after pleading guilty to 51 charges including intentionally causing serious injury and reckless conduct endangering life.

He also admitted to a nearly year-long crime spree ­involving a police chase, car thefts and a shocking incident in which a teenage girl was forced to strip to her underwear before she was robbed of her jewellery and clothing.

It means the boy will be released into the community after spending just under six months in youth detention.

His co-offenders — a boy and a girl both aged 15 — were previously spared jail and handed community sentences for their involvement in the attempted abduction.

Benjamin suffered life-altering injuries from the violent abduction. Picture: David Caird

After the sentence, Benjamin’s mother Wannisa Srichan told the Herald Sun there was no justice for her family.

“My son is the victim, they should care more for him than they care for them,” she said.

“I don’t think (the offenders) will learn from this.

“It’s so disappointing.”

Ms Srichan said Benjamin, who is now 16, struggled at school and was still being treated for his injuries.

“It’s really sad for him to go through this,” she said.

On Wednesday, a children’s court magistrate said the youth, who cannot be named due to his age, had committed “terrible, violent offending”.

But he said legislation related to young offenders placed greater emphasis on rehabilitation instead of incarceration.

Benjamin Phikhohpoom with his parents, Kirati Phikhohpoom and Wannisa Srichan. Picture: David Caird

Appearing via video link from custody, the boy acknowledged that if he breached court orders he would be back behind bars.

The court heard the boy had an intellectual disability and received support through the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

He also maintained the support of his family, including his mother and sister who were seated in court.

Benjamin was walking home from his Glen Huntly school with a friend, when two boys – one armed with a boxcutter – jumped out of the stolen car and confronted the pair in September last year.

One of the boys slapped Benjamin’s friend, before Benjamin was punched and kicked.

Benjamin was forced into the passenger seat of the car, which was being driven by a girl, before the vehicle sped off while he was hanging from the door.

Glen Eira College student Benjamin Phikhohpoom after the abduction. Picture: 10 news

He was forced to run so his legs wouldn’t drag but the vehicle reached speeds of up to 70km/h before he was flung onto the ground.

The offenders fled, running a red light.

Members of the public rushed to Benjamin, who was vomiting blood and bleeding from the head and mouth.

He suffered a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain.

Benjamin was placed in a coma for a week and spent months in hospital.

He has permanent brain damage, suffers double vision and amnesia and requires a hearing aid.

The boy sentenced on Wednesday had been on a wild crime spree ­involving several car thefts and a police chase in the months before and after the attempted abduction of ­Benjamin.

He was also involved in a separate incident a month earlier in which a group of youths forced a teenage girl to strip to her underwear as they robbed her.

Originally published as ‘Disappointing’: Mother of abducted Glen Eira College schoolboy slams sentence