‘What Americans do with guns, people in Australia do with their fists,’ bashing victim claims

Herald Sun

Janurary 7,2016

MARTIN Bevan earned $125,000 a year, drove an $80,000 Chrysler and lived a life of luxury. Then he was out one night and that all changed.

The 43-year-old from Perth was the victim of a random “one hit” attack that destroyed his life.

He now suffers from a brain injury, epilepsy and amnesia and lives in a men’s shelter.

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  Qld one-punch accused 'devastated'
  The men charged with the fatal assault of Brisbane teenager Cole Miller face hefty jail sentence

Mr Bevan has spoken out after the recent deaths of coward-punch victims Cole Miller and Trevor Duroux as, he says, it again highlights a severe cultural issue in Australia.

He said the incidents prompted him to use his own experience as a warning to others about what could happen with just one hit.

“What Americans do with guns, people in Australia do with their fists,” he said.

“We’ve got to keep it at the forefront of people’s minds that human lives are fragile — it only takes one knock. I’m damaged for life from one hit.”

Mr Bevan told news.com.au he was walking out of an IGA Supermarket in Midland, Perth, when he was set upon by a man in an unprovoked attack in May 2011.

Mr Bevan said the man, who he didn’t know, approached him from behind at about 7.15pm and “knocked (him) out cold” with “the lid from a bin you use to put receipts in”.

“I was still in my work clothes,” he said. “It was a pretty horrific sight.

“There’s a small artery in the forehead he managed to split so I was bleeding.

“I hit my head on a car which was parked, which was lucky because otherwise I would have fallen face first into concrete.

“I weighed 104kg and stand 6ft 3, but there I was — a dead weight on concrete in the carpark.

“I was told later there were people in the carpark who saw it and jumped in their cars for safety.”

Mr Bevan said the alleged offender was arrested by police and later sentenced to 18 months in prison over the assault.

“They had him on camera outside a liquor store drinking all day. He was quite intoxicated,” he said.

Mr Bevan said he required 50 stitches in his face after the attack.

“The bone in my nose was sticking out through the skin and missed my eye by 5mm — it went up through my nose and straight through the eyebrow,” he said.

He suffered lasting injuries including a traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, amnesia and agoraphobia, according to Mr Bevan.

“The list goes on,” he said.

Mr Bevan said, before the incident, he held two degrees in business studies and marketing and earned $125,000 per year working in business development and acquisition and lived a life of luxury.

“I used to have an investment property and drove an $80,000 Chrysler and had a Falcon as a secondary car,” he said.

“Due to not being able to work because of my amnesia or support myself I now live in a men’s hospital with the Salvation Army and, because of my seizures, I can’t even drive.

“I used to like getting a haircut in a particular area in Perth but I can’t even go near there anymore because it’s close to where the attack took place and I get jitters and start shaking. I don’t go out that way anymore.”

He continues to volunteer for the Special Olympics Australia.

Mr Bevan said he hoped his story, along with those who have been affected by or lost their lives to a coward’s punch, would make potential offenders realise how severe and widespread the consequences of one hit can be.

“A coward’s punch doesn’t only affect the person they hit, it affects their (victim’s) family and friends and their own family and friends,” he said.

“It’s not a private, two way thing between you and the individual you hit — it affects a lot of people and can change your life as much as it can change theirs.”

Mr Bevan’s comments come after 18-year-old Cole Miller was allegedly punched in the side of the head before collapsing to the pavement in Brisbane on Sunday morning.

He had been walking through Chinatown Mall in Fortitude Valley on his way home from a night out about 3.30am when he was allegedly approached by Daniel Jermaine Lee Maxwell and Armstrong Renata.

Mr Miller suffered devastating brain injuries and was taken off life support on Monday afternoon.

Maxwell and Renata, both 21, could face possible life sentences if convicted over their alleged role in Mr Miller’s death.

Steven Miller, Cole’s father, said on Monday how his “beautiful, brave” son struggled for life before dying in hospital, surrounded by loved ones.

He said the water polo star suffered “massive brain trauma” and had his life support switched off.

Mr Miller’s death came just weeks after Trevor Duroux died after he was allegedly punched in the back of the head outside the Coolangatta Hotel on December 4.

It is believed the father and grandfather was attempting to break up a fight when he was hit, causing him to fall to the ground, where he suffered a cardiac arrest.

Tristan Heather, an 18-year-old New Zealand national, has been charged over the incident with the original charge of causing grievous bodily harm expected to be upgraded to unlawful striking causing death.

The charge was introduced last year as part of the ‘Safe Night Out” legislation aimed at combating alcohol and drug-fuelled violence.

Champion boxer Danny Green launched the Coward’s Punch Campaign and self-funded a TV commercial after a young man was punched and killed in his home town of Perth and is a strong advocate against street violence.

He was also outspoken when 18-year-old Sydney man Daniel Christie was hit by a coward’s punch and killed by Shaun McNeil during a night out at Kings Cross and when Thomas Kelly suffered a fatal blow he didn’t see coming from Kieran Loveridge in 2012.

McNeil was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to seven years jail and Loveridge got four years for manslaughter.

The NSW Government last year introduced mandatory minimum sentences for people who fatally assault someone while under the influence of drugs or alcohol to eight years with a maximum sentence of 25 years.

In his Facebook post, which has been shared more than 22,000 times, Green suggested life in prison might be a suitable punishment for a person convicted over a fatal one-punch attack.

“Begs the question: What sentence is strong enough to stop this madness? Life in jail for an innocent life taken?” he wrote.

He told news.com.au he stands by his comments.

“If a person is facing life in jail, if we throw away the key, would that not make people think twice?”