A furious family has spoken out after serious charges were dropped against a teenager accused of being involved in the kidnapping and assault of their schoolboy.
Benjamin Phikhohpoom suffered life-changing injuries when he was allegedly bundled into a stolen car by a group of three teenagers at around 3.30pm outside Glen Eira College in Melbourne’s south-east last September.
The group, two boys and a girl, were allegedly armed with machetes and demanded that he hand over his phone and belongings.
He was then allegedly hit by the car and dragged for 150 meters before being allegedly stabbed and then run over again when he was thrown from the vehicle.
Bystanders found Benjamin vomiting blood and rushed him to the hospital, where he spent six days in a coma with a fractured skull and a hemorrhage on the brain.
The details were recounted in juvenile court on Thursday when a 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty to several charges, including armed robbery, theft and possession of a controlled weapon.
However, a plea deal reached with prosecutors saw charges of intentionally causing serious injury and reckless conduct dropped.
Benjamin’s mother, Wannisa Srichan, said that while some justice had been served, the family was “still very sad about the outcome”.
A 15-year-old boy accused of taking part in the alleged kidnap and assault of schoolboy Benjamin Phikhohpoom (pictured) has had serious charges dropped in exchange for a guilty plea.
The prosecution dropped crime-related charges against Benjamin, which Srichan said were “difficult” to hear in court.
“What this child did was very serious and affected my son greatly,” she told the newspaper. Herald of the sun.
‘I heard the court case today and it was very hard… My son is still affected by this, he is struggling.
‘It’s been almost 10 months and we are so angry that our family had to go through this, Benjamin didn’t deserve this.’
The accused teenager had spent 43 days in pre-trial detention before being released on bail in October.
Benjamin spent six days in a coma (pictured) after suffering a fractured skull and a brain haemorrhage when he was allegedly dragged 150 metres from a stolen car driven by the group.
The court heard the youths had allegedly been on a crime spree in the hour before attacking Benjamin.
A mother and daughter reclining in a car reported that the teens tried to open the vehicle’s doors before fleeing when they noticed they were inside.
The youths stopped next to a teenager about 35 minutes later, asked him if he had a phone and slapped him when he said no.
Shortly afterwards, the group stole phones and earphones from two other teenagers and one of them brandished a machete at them.
They then turned their attention to a high school student who witnessed the robbery and asked him ‘what phone do you have?’ Before demanding, they gave it to him.
Benjamin and a friend had just finished school and were walking home when they were attacked.
Benjamin’s family said it was difficult to hear the details of the court statement as the charges related to alleged crimes against the student (pictured).
The court heard Benjamin was forced into the passenger seat when the teenager allegedly behind the wheel accelerated while he was still hanging on the door.
He was forced to run so that his legs would not touch the road, but lost control when the car reached speeds of up to 70 km/h.
Benjamin was left with permanent brain damage, double vision, amnesia and requires a hearing aid due to injuries he suffered during the alleged attack.
The accused teenager’s lawyer said he should escape a custodial sentence because he had taken steps to improve his life.
She said the boy had been living in a care home at the time, but had since been placed back in the care of his father, who was present in court to support him.
The teen’s lawyer and a youth advocate pushed for him to avoid jail time when he is sentenced in juvenile court next month (pictured, police at the scene in September)
A juvenile justice advocate supported the lawyer’s position and pushed for the teenager to be given a community corrections order.
The presiding magistrate told the court he would take victim impact statements into account before sentencing the teenager.
He said the remaining charges were “something the community does not want to endure.”
The judge added that if they were allowed to be in court, the public would ask him ‘why don’t you lock him up?’
He will return to court for sentencing next month.
