Ponganamparambile claims he was wrongfully accused after he bought a bottle of rum from a Dan Murphy’s store and then walked back in to check the price with the cashier. He is taking action against the state of Victoria in the County Court, claiming that the post on the Cardinia Eyewatch Facebook page on May 15, 2020, identified him as a thief and a criminal. The criminal matter was later dropped when Ponganamparambile came forward to Crime Stoppers. However the post remained online for 48 hours, causing Ponganamparambile “substantial hurt, distress and embarrassment”. Victoria Police recently lodged its defence in the defamation case, stating that the post was published as “part of the process of investigating a crime or possible crime with a view to prosecution”.
The doctor and the bodybuilder seeking payouts for false Facebook crime reports theage.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theage.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
After less than a week in police custody, Sony was rendered a quadriplegic
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Six days after being taken into police custody, Aboriginal man Sony Ray Austinâs spinal cord was severed and he was rendered a quadriplegic.
Sonyâs story, uncovered in documents made public for the first time, detail a rarely reported aspect of incarceration: when Aboriginal people are disabled in the course of their confinement.
Sony Ray Austin, prior to his injury while in police custody.
In 2018, the 26-year-oldâs mental state had deteriorated after he was picked up by police over a family violence matter in Bendigo on February 16. Three days later, Sony was transferred to a holding cell beneath the Melbourne Magistrates Court in the CBD as he awaited a magistrate.
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Retired electoral commissioner Phillip Green has given evidence that a newly elected Labor councillor is likely the only candidate who could have benefited from fraudulent votes in October’s tainted election in Moreland.
However, Mr Green, who was ACT electoral commissioner for 23 years, said there was no evidence before him that Milad El-Halabi rigged the election in the north-west ward.
The Age is not suggesting that Mr El-Halabi is involved in any wrongdoing.
The VEC is trying to establish how tainted the election was in the north-west ward of Moreland City Council.
Credit:Jason South
The Victorian Electoral Commission called in police in October after it emerged that hundreds of ballot papers in the north-west ward of Moreland, which covers parts of Melbourne s north including Glenroy and Pascoe Vale, had been removed from letterboxes, filled in fraudulently and then posted to the commission.