Man 'stripped, bashed' in Brisbane unit
AAP
December 31, 2013, 3:18 pm
A man was allegedly ordered to strip naked, threatened with a tomahawk and bashed in a vicious assault at a Brisbane unit.
A 45-year-old man and a 47-year-old man appeared in court on Tuesday charged with deprivation of liberty, grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning bodily harm and wilful damage following an incident on Monday afternoon.
Police will allege that the victim met the accused men, Jack Steele and Robert Bruce Harper, only on Sunday.
It's understood that the man was allegedly assaulted after he went to Steele's unit at Annerley, in Brisbane's south, on Monday to retrieve his mobile phone and mentioned he'd been in jail for domestic violence.
Police will allege that Steele and Harper began behaving aggressively towards the third man before turning the radio up, locking the door and ordering him to strip naked.
The man was allegedly threatened with a tomahawk and a kitchen knife, kicked and punched, and hit with a broomstick during an assault said to have lasted several hours.
He suffered a broken nose and rib and a fractured eye socket, as well as an inch-long cut to his wrist after Steele allegedly told Harper to cut the man's hand off.
The man was allegedly told that he could leave if he cleaned up the unit, before police arrived to investigate reports of a disturbance and intervened.
Harper was denied bail in the Brisbane Magistrates Court and Steele did not apply for bail.
Harper's lawyer Terry Morgans said his client had schizophrenia, had denied cutting the man's wrist, and his client had played only a minor role in the alleged assault.
However, Magistrate Deborah Vasta said the allegations involved "aggressive and irrational behaviour" committed on someone who was "virtually a stranger".
She said she didn't want to let Harper back into the community until he had had a proper mental health assessment.
Both men's cases were adjourned until late January.
