A former Australian champion kickboxer is suing the prison where he was bashed so severely by another inmate, he was declared dead.
Adam Watt, 49, who used to box under the name ‘Aussie Sniper’, was beaten by convicted murderer Django O’Hara while awaiting trial in 2009 at Silverwater’s Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre.
Mr Watt appeared in the NSW Supreme Court on Tuesday to sue the prison for negligence, believing prison staff failed their duty of care to keep the boxer safe, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Former Australian kickboxer Adam Watt (pictured), was beaten by convicted murderer Django at Silverwater’s Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre in 2009
Mr Watt’s lawyers also argued the jail should have segregated O’Hara, following a warning by the Australian Federal Police that the champion kickboxer had received death threats.
The brutal attack, caught on CCTV footage, occurred at 8.44am on October 1, 2009.
O’Hara initially approached Mr Watt from behind before hitting him over the head with a five-kilogram Breville sandwich press, concealed inside a pillow case.
O’Hara initially approached Mr Watt from behind before hitting him over the head with a five-kilogram Breville sandwich press, concealed inside a pillow case
As Mr Watt lay unconscious on the ground, O’Hara could be seen belting him with the weapon a second time
As Mr Watt lay unconscious on the ground, O’Hara could be seen belting him with the weapon a second time.
The ‘Aussie Sniper’ claimed prison officers failed to locate the sandwich press used in the attack, despite the weapon being used in an earlier confrontation with O’Hara.
However, state lawyers believe Mr Watt was the aggressor in two earlier fights between the men, arguing that the kickboxer placed O’Hara in a ‘choke hold’ and then threatened him.
The ‘Aussie Sniper’ claimed prison officers failed their duty of care to keep the boxer safe before the brutal prison bashing
Mr Watt was awaiting trial over an alleged conspiracy to import millions of dollars worth of pseudoephedrine in 2009.
He was ruled unfit to stand trial for the charges in 2013, following the brain injuries he received as a result of the prison attack.
The civil hearing against the prison is set to run for three weeks.