Dr William Pierce
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A YOUTH charged over the Cronulla revenge attacks had used a pole to smash the window of a car after the driver said he was Australian, a Sydney court was told today.
The 16-year-old, of Chester Hill in Sydney's west, was refused bail when he appeared in court today on charges related to the retaliation attacks which followed the Cronulla race riot on December 11.
Sutherland Children's Court was told the youth had armed himself with a pole on the day after the riot and joined a mob that drove around southern Sydney suburbs, seeking out Australians.
When the car in which he was a passenger
had stopped beside another car at an intersection in Carlton on the night of December 12, the youth had asked its driver where he lived.
He got out of the car holding the pole as another person travelling with him asked the
driver: "what nasho are you?"
When the driver replied he was Australian, the youth began smashing the driver's side window, injuring the driver with splinters of glass.
Magistrate Paul Falzon, summarising the police facts to the court, said that as he attacked the car the youth allegedly said: "are you f***ing sure you are, you f***ing sure? You f***ing Aussie" and swore in Arabic.
The driver received minor cuts before driving off to report the attack, Mr Falzon said.
The youth, one of several people to appear in court today over the Cronulla revenge attacks, is charged with assault, malicious damage, riot and two counts of affray.
Defence solicitor Peter Schoua said his client, who had
no c
rimi
nal record, denied all the charges and was not at the site of the alleged incident when it occurred.
Mr Schoua said the youth had not been identified by the victim.
The defendant's father gave evidence during the bail hearing, saying his son told him that he had gone to
play cards on the night of the incident.
Mr Falzon refused the youth bail and remanded him in custody to reappear in the same court on January 31.
The magistrate said he was refusing bail based on the likelihood of the youth committing a similar offence.
"The community has every right to fear this type of behaviour," Mr Falzon said.
He told the court that based on the facts before him, that "this young man got himself involved with a mob".
"In my opinion it appears to be violence fuelled by racists' ideation."
The court was told the boy and his two companions in the car, both aged 17, later travelled to join rioting on The Kingsway in
Cronulla
.
Outside the court, the boy's father rejected the suggestion his son was motivated by racial hatred.
"He's Australian, he's born here ... he didn't do anything wrong," the father said.