Jayden Chin sentenced for ‘callous’ attack on homeless men in Darwin car park

A young man beat a 67-year-old man with his own walking stick before driving off with one of the homeless man’s few possessions.

Jayden James Chin appeared in the Supreme Court last month to plead guilty to robbery and the assault of two homeless men on July 4, 2024.

A Darwin local bashed an elderly homeless man with his own walking stick before driving off with his belongings in a “callous” attack.

Jayden James Chin appeared in the Supreme Court last month to plead guilty to robbery and the assault of two homeless men on July 4, 2024.

The court heard a 67 and 54-year-old man were sleeping rough in a Daly St underground carpark at 6.40am, when they were approached by the 31-year-old.

Chin approached the 67-year-old brandishing a knife and demanded he hand over the keys to his electric scooter.

The homeless man handed over the keys, before calling out for help from his 57-year-old friend.

Chin wrenched the walking cane from the 67-year-old, and started beating the two elderly men with it.

“F—king homeless c—ts, f—king homeless pricks,” a witness heard Chin saying.

After the struggle the 31-year-old drove off on the older man’s electric scooter, leaving behind his two vulnerable victims bleeding profusely in the car park.

Justice Trevor Riley condemned Mr Chin’s actions as “callous”, saying the younger man saw the older homeless men as “fair game”.

“It involved violence against vulnerable victims with little prospect of defending themselves,” Justice Riley said.

“Although the value of the property stolen was relatively low, it was, of

course, quite significant for someone who was a homeless person.”

Justice Riley said at the time Chin was in the grips of a drug addiction, robbing the homeless men of their few possessions to get cash for more drugs.

While Chin spent eight months on remand, Justice Riley said he had not accessed drug treatment.

“I am told that you recognise that you have a drug problem,” he said.

“You have not yet done anything about that, but you would like to do something about it.”

Chin was sentenced to two years and 10 months in prison, with a 17 month non-parole period.

Originally published as Jayden Chin sentenced for ‘callous’ attack on homeless men in Darwin car park