Family bashed

By Bridget Cook
A FATHER has described an unprovoked attack in Cranbourne recently in which he was king hit, his daughter struck in the face and his son was bashed, as the worst moment in his life.
The 45-year-old Garfield man, who did not want his named used in fear of retribution, was one of four victims of the serious assault which occurred at the intersection of Camms Road and Canterbury Street, Cranbourne, about 1.30am on 22 January.
Police are appealing for witnesses to the attack, which happened while the four of them were walking home from McDonald’s in Cranbourne.
The father said he, his 26-year-old daughter and 24-year-old son, who live together in Cranbourne, and his son’s friend, 19, had gone to the McDonald’s restaurant on Camms Road to get a late night meal.
He said as they were leaving the restaurant, a young woman walked past and his son simply said ‘woah’ in a complimentary way.
The victim said a man then approached them and said, “don’t call my bro those kind of words”.
The man said he then tried to defuse the situation, telling him that it was a compliment and that they would now be leaving.
“We walked down to the South Gippsland Highway and then onto Camms Road,” he said.
“I could hear voices in the distance, boys in the car park yelling at us telling us to come back.
“Not long after a black station wagon approached us and guys jumped out.
“It all happened so quickly, we don’t know how many there were.”
He said a man came up to his daughter and said, “get out of the way or I’m going to punch you”, however he punched her in the cheek anyway.
“Some guy came up to me a punched me straight in the mouth,” he said.
“My daughter said the guy that hit her, then ran up to me a king hit me straight to the eye.
“I fell back and hit my head on the road. I was knocked out cold.”
The man said in the meantime other guys were hitting into the two boys.
The father suffered a black eye, bruising to the cheek, a fat lip and bleeding to the brain which caused him to spend two days in Monash Medical Centre Clayton.
The other three victims suffered a range of injuries including broken ribs and severe bruising and swelling.
The man said the whole attack was a frightening experience for all of them.
“My daughter thought I was dead,” he said.
“When I was knocked out she was just screaming for me to wake up.
“It’s the worst thing ever to happen in my life.
“My neuro surgeon said if I landed on the back of my head, rather than the side, I wouldn’t be here today. I was inches away from death.
“My daughter said it was the scariest thing to ever happen to her.”
The man said he hoped the culprits were caught and taught a good lesson.
“I just hope the police can do something,” he said,
“In my opinion, you just never hit a woman.
“These people need to be hit hard back to be taught a lesson.”
He encouraged everyone to keep their mouths shut following his family’s experience.
“The best thing to do is just keep your mouth shut, even if it’s a compliment.
“With people like this on the streets, someone’s going to get killed, so don’t even make suggestions.”
Police said the attackers were described as of Pacific Islander appearance.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.