From the Warrnambool Chronicle:

Youth guilty of race attack
Shane Fowles

A TEENAGER who assaulted a restaurateur in a racially-fuelled gang attack was yesterday placed on a community-based order.

Joshua Ladd, 18, of Morack Avenue, Warrnambool, yesterday pleaded guilty to eight charges stemming from a range of incidents over the past month.

He had spent four days in custody, having been arrested on Monday for stealing shoes from a department store and possessing a dangerous article.

The court heard that Ladd’s run of offences started on April 11 when the teen and two friends banged on the doors of China City restaurant in Koroit Street, Warrnambool.

Shouting abusive and racist remarks, they were confronted by a male owner who told them to leave.

A grossly drunk Ladd and the others began punching the defenceless victim to his head and upper body, before the man fled up Koroit Street.

Ladd then threw a beer can at the restaurateur, breaking his spectacles.

The victim was continually punched and suffered cuts and abrasions to his face.

Magistrate Ron Saines denounced the racist attack and Ladd’s attitude towards the Chinese community. “Some Chinese people have been here for 10 generations,” he said. “They are entitled to hold onto their culture without being told to go home and so on.” Ladd also pleaded guilty to spray painting the Fletcher Jones factory walls and possessing five grams of cannabis for personal use.

The 18-year-old, who moved to Warrnambool last year, will have to complete 100 hours of unpaid work as part of the nine-month CBO.