A woman has been hit with a $6,000 dental bill after a stranger allegedly punched her in the mouth and forehead as she took the tram home from work.
Cassandra, 31, who did not want to give her surname, was travelling on the tram in Northcote, central Melbourne, on Monday at about 12.30pm when she was allegedly assaulted by a 41-year-old man.
He said the man was playing loud music before turning it up to a level that made it impossible for passengers to hear tram stop announcements.
When Cassandra, who works in construction, asked the man to turn down the music, he asked her if she was a tourist before allegedly punching her twice in the face.
She tried to restrain the man while three other passengers on board called the police.
When the tram stopped, two other men boarded to help Cassandra make a citizen’s arrest of the alleged attacker.
“It was about 10 minutes before the police arrived, he kept trying to come at me while we were holding him down and he was (allegedly) punching my body and trying to push me into oncoming traffic,” Cassandra told Daily Mail Australia.
‘He had tried to escape and was saying things like ‘oh, my dog ran away’, but when the police arrived he just threw himself to the ground.
Cassandra, 31, was travelling on the tram in Northcote, central Melbourne, on Monday at around 12.30pm when she was allegedly punched in the mouth and forehead.
She also suffered bruising to her forearms and shoulder as she tried to restrain the man.
Cassandra said that as she attempted to restrain him, the man allegedly yelled a series of disturbing threats.
“He (allegedly) was saying ‘I’m going to find out where you live and I’m going to kill you,'” he said.
The man did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol and seemed like a normal passenger before the alleged attack, Cassandra added.
Shocking photos show the extent of the damage the alleged attack caused to the 31-year-old, with Cassandra having to undergo root canal treatment on her teeth.
His total medical bills are estimated to be $6,000.
“It still affects me every day, I have headaches and I can’t chew and that’s expected to last for two weeks,” he said.
He also suffered bruises to his right shoulder and both forearms.
The 31-year-old managed to restrain her alleged attacker with the help of two passers-by.
Victoria Police confirmed the man had been charged with recklessly causing injury, intentionally causing injury and aggravated assault of a woman.
Cassandra was taken to the hospital after the alleged assault with non-life-threatening injuries.
She said that if it had not been for the two men who helped her restrain the man, the outcome would have been very different.
“I congratulate them and I must thank them and the three people on the tram; without them I would not have achieved this result,” he said.
“They are all a great representation of the Australian spirit.”
Cassandra is now calling for tougher legislation to be passed against repeat offenders and for the Victorian government to restore powers so that police can “move on”.
The powers allow police to take action against a person whose conduct “caused a reasonable fear of violence” or “the person is preventing another person from legally entering or leaving a premises.
Cassandra will have to shell out $6,000 in dental bills to get her teeth fixed
He also called for closing the supervised drug injection center in North Richmond, which opened in 2018 and is just a couple hundred yards from an elementary school.
‘‘I’ve been talking to all my friends and family and they’ve all seen similar incidents of violence on the street,’ Cassandra said.
‘Even that day they had seen someone clearly on drugs walking around threatening the community. Everyone is experiencing that.
‘I look forward to increased security and consequences for violent crime in our justice system.
“You hear about repeat offenders who are released on bail no matter how serious the crime is.”
Cassandra added that she is now afraid to ride the tram, which she usually does to get to work.
He also suffers from epilepsy, which means he is sometimes unable to drive.
“I feel very insecure,” she said.
Daily Mail Australia understands the accused has a criminal record.
He was released on bail and is due to appear in court on November 15.
Cassandra (pictured before the alleged attack) added that she is now afraid to travel by tram, which she usually does to get to work.