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A vet who broke his partner’s ribs because he refused to wear a Yes T-shirt a month before the Indigenous Voice referendum to Parliament has pleaded guilty to assault.
Dr Anthony Philip Benjamin, 72, and his friend of more than 30 years, a 68-year-old man, were at an investment club meeting in Mudgeeraba, Queensland, on September 14 last year when tensions were up.
Southport Magistrates’ Court heard how the couple had discussed the vote before Benjamin took off the Yes T-shirt he was wearing and put it over his friend’s head, the court reported. Gold Coast Newsletter.
The accomplished veterinarian grabbed his victim’s hand as he tried to remove her shirt.
An accomplished veterinarian forced his partner of more than 30 years to wear a Yes t-shirt, like the one in the photo.
Benjamin also took a photo with his phone of the 68-year-old man carrying the item.
When the vet returned from the bathroom and discovered that his friend had taken it off, he became enraged and grabbed the victim’s shirt so hard that the buttons came off.
The court was also told the former chief surgeon pushed his friend out of his chair, causing the man to hit his head.
The vet then fell on top of his victim and said words like “ungrateful racist pig.”
Benjamin began punching his 68-year-old man in the ribs, but once the victim tried to defend himself by putting the vet in a headlock, Benjamin pressed his elbow on his windpipe.
Other attendees at the meeting intervened and one of them punched the vet in the head.
The victim sought medical attention for his injuries, which included broken ribs and damage to one of his lungs.
The court heard the 68-year-old was knocked out of his chair and hit his head. He also suffered broken ribs and a damaged lung.
The court was also told the vet went to the 68-year-old’s home the next day with flowers and an apology card and also sent several text messages and an email about his embarrassment and regret over the incident.
Benjamin has since resigned from the investment club he helped found and took a psychological course.
The vet’s defense lawyer, Erin Mitchell, told the court her client made the “probably very reckless” decision to wear his Yes T-shirt to the meeting.
It was a show of support for club members who had raised concerns about comments made about the referendum at the previous meeting.
Mitchell said the 68-year-old former friend was one of several people who had responded to a Yes submission with “derogatory responses and ridicule”, and had also made a comment that prompted the vet’s shirt change.
“(The victim) commented that voting yes will allow them to do what the Maori have done in their homeland, New Zealand, taking over all the land and ruining the country,” he said.
Mitchell also told the court that Benjamin and his wife were volunteers with First Nations organizations and had been subject to backlash during the Yes campaign.
The often heated referendum debate saw the vet and his wife subject to backlash.
However, magistrate Dzenita Balic ruled that the assault had “deeply impacted” the 68-year-old man.
“While his physical injuries may have a short-term impact on him, the psychological scars remain,” he said.
“He is no longer the same person and that is directly due to your behavior.”
Balic said the vet had no criminal record and was otherwise of exemplary character and was now facing possible repercussions on his veterinary record and Blue Card.
Benjamin pleaded guilty to one count of serious assault on a person over 60 years of age.
He was fined $10,000 and ordered to pay another $3,000 in compensation to his victim.
No conviction was recorded.