Hugh Bacalla Garth (pictured) was found guilty earlier this year of assault causing death after coward punching a stranger
The first person charged under new one-punch laws will spend at least eight years behind bars after killing a young nurse outside a 21st birthday party.
Hugh Bacalla Garth was found guilty earlier this year of assault causing death after coward punching a stranger, Raynor Manalad, 21, in Sydney’s Rooty Hill in 2014.
During the party, Garth, who was intoxicated, had been told to ‘respect the house and calm down’ before he went outside where he pushed a man in the chest.
The man fell and fractured his ankle, leading Mr Manalad to ask Garth why he did it, before he held onto Garth’s shirt.
The judge noted he did not try to strike him and, according to witnesses, was trying to calm down Garth, then aged 21.
But the attacker used a closed fist punch to strike Mr Manalad in the face which knocked him to the ground. He never regained consciousness.
Raynor Manalad, 21, was killed in a one-punch attack in the Sydney suburb of Rooty Hill in 2014
During the party, Garth (pictured), who was intoxicated, had been told to ‘respect the house and calm down’ before he went outside where he pushed a man in the chest
In the NSW District Court on Friday, Garth was jailed for 10 years with a non-parole period of eight.
The judge found the seriousness of Garth’s crime to be ‘well below the mid-range’, also noting the need to deter others being violent after drinking to excess.
‘It is now notorious that a single punch can not only cause catastrophic injuries but also death,’ he said.
During the trial, Mr Manalad’s mother Teresita spoke of how her son had planned to become a psychiatrist to help those with addictions to alcohol and drugs.
‘What a great contribution to society, what a great contribution to the mentally ill, what a great contribution to young people affected by drugs and alcohol,’ she said.
The newly-graduated nurse (pictured centre) was trying to calm down Garth, then aged 21, before the attack, the court heard
Mr Manalad was rushed to hospital about 12.30am on the night of the attack but didn’t regain consciousness
‘Isn’t it ironic about how he died and how he was killed? I don’t understand at all… his death is an enormous loss to the community to which he would have made a big difference.’
The newly-graduated nurse was rushed to hospital about 12.30am on the night of the attack but died after suffering a massive brain bleed.
Since the senseless deaths of 18-year-olds Thomas Kelly and Daniel Christie on Sydney’s streets, new laws were introduced in NSW to help curb alcohol-fuelled attacks.
Anyone found guilty of killing a person with a single punch while intoxicated now faces a minimum of eight years jail and maximum 25 years behind bars.
Since the senseless deaths of 18-year-olds Thomas Kelly (left) and Daniel Christie (right) on Sydney’s streets, new laws were introduced to help curb alcohol-fuelled attacks