Law loophole lament as accused paramedic stabber held
Callum Godde and Nick Wilson |
An accused paramedic stabber has faced court as an ambulance union leader concedes lawmakers should have foreseen a loophole in mandatory sentencing laws.
The Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance paramedic was allegedly stabbed in an unprovoked attack as he waited for a coffee outside a cafe in Reservoir in Melbourne’s north on Thursday.
The paramedic, who recently became a father, was taken to hospital with stab wounds to his face and neck in a stable condition after a passerby came to his rescue.
Mohamud Ali, 32, was charged with attempted murder and made no application for bail in a brief hearing at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday morning.
Police allege he got out of a small red car and stabbed the paramedic in the upper body before fleeing in the vehicle.
The court heard it was Ali’s first time in custody and he had no diagnosed medical conditions, although he was prescribed diazepam by his general practitioner.
He is slated to return to court on August 7.
There is a minimum jail term of six months for people who injure emergency workers in Victoria, but the law only applies to emergency workers who are “on duty” at the time.
Victorian Ambulance Union secretary Danny Hill said the definition of “on duty” for a paramedic, under the sentencing act, referred to providing care to a patient.
“It means if while they’re on the way to a job, they don’t have a patient in the back, or they’re standing around at a hospital doing their restock … and someone turns up and assaults them, those sentencing provisions don’t apply,” he told AAP.
“With this case it’s probably not as relevant because there is a much more severe charge in attempted murder.”
The loophole was first exposed in February when a man avoided jail after attacking a female paramedic who was not treating a patient.
The union immediately wrote to both attorney-general and shadow attorney-general to raise their concerns.
“That couldn’t have been the intent but for whatever reason, the way it’s written exposes us,” Mr Hill said.
“Lawmakers should have seen it, we probably should have seen it.”
Premier Jacinta Allan has committed to fixing the laws, ordering the Victorian Law Reform Commission to review the definition of “on duty”.
Shadow attorney-general James Newbury called the review “offensive” and accused Ms Allan of “sitting on her hands”.
“Our emergency service workers deserve more than another review,” he said.
The opposition has vowed to introduce a private members bill in the next parliamentary sitting period to ensure emergency services workers are protected at all times.
Deputy Premier Ben Carroll conceded it was “fair” to point out the failure of the current laws to cover emergency workers at all times while on shift.
“We’re going to close this loophole as soon as possible,” Mr Carroll told reporters on Friday.
Mr Hill backed the government’s review to ensure the reforms weren’t another “Band-Aid fix” and no other loopholes existed.
The laws were last tightened in 2020 after James Haberfield, 22, avoided a prison term despite admitting to attacking a paramedic at a musical festival while on a cocktail of drugs.
Haberfield was ordered to serve an 18-month community corrections order and undergo treatment for schizophrenia, which he suffered at the time of the attack.
The change meant offenders could no longer rely on a “special reasons” clause if their mental state was self-induced by alcohol or drug use.
AAP