In August, Hengky Irawan, a 62-year-old man, was arrested at Aarows gay sex club in Sydney after filling a lube dispenser with hydrochloric acid, which has a corrosive effect on human tissue and can scar and damage lungs, eyes, skin, and organs irreversibly.
The man was arrested after his tampering with the dispenser set off an alarm and police were summoned.
Today, a judge let him off the hook with a two-year “good behavior bond” and expressed sympathy with the perpetrator over his psychological state,, saying that she agreed it wasn’t a hate crime but that his motivation was inspired by being thrown out of the club at an earlier date.
Irawan’s lawyer had argued that “[The incident was] not a hate crime … this can only be explained in reference to his mental health … [Irawan was] in the midst of a major depressive episode.”
The prosecutor called Irawan’s actions a “textbook example of motivation for hatred of people,” adding that “{Irawan] knows it to be a place where sexual intercourse takes place.”
Said Magistrate Beverly Schurr:
“It was directed towards patrons at the nightclub because he felt aggrieved about being kicked out earlier in the year. [Irawan’s actions were] not about their sexual orientation … [He was] angry about being excluded himself.”
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