Oz court sentences teenager in Indian`s murder case

Melbourne, Dec 9 (PTI) Ahead of the first death
anniversary of Indian student Nitin Garg, an Australian court
on Thursday sentenced to 18 months probation a teenager, who
witnessed the stabbing incident that had strained the ties
between the two countries in January this year.
The 16-year-old boy, who has not been named for legal
reasons, pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court to being an
accessory to the murder of 21-year-old Garg in Cruickshank
Park on January 2, according to 'The Age'.
The court heard Garg was on his way to work at a
nearby Hungry Jack's outlet when the two boys, both aged 15 at
the time, noticed him walking past while speaking on his
mobile phone.
The prosecution said the accused told to his friend
"that bloke's phone looks nice", which prompted him to
allegedly approach Garg and stab him in the abdomen.
Days after Garg's murder, Police interviewed the boy
who did not say anything about the incident.
However, later during another interview on April 26,
the accused changed his story and told police he and his
co-accused were in the Yarraville park on the night of the
stabbing.
His co-accused, also a 16-year-old boy, has already
been charged with murder and is due to face a committal
hearing in February.
Phone records showed Garg tried to ring triple-0 for
help immediately after he was stabbed but the accused yelled
at him to "drop the phone" because he was scared he was
calling the police.
In April, the boy told a friend's father "he was going
to tell him something he had never told anyone before" and
admitted to being present during Garg's stabbing.
The court heard that the man contacted police with
the information.
The boy then agreed to wear a listening device to
record a conversation with his co-accused in which the alleged
murderer incriminated himself.
The prosecution described the boy's co-operation as
significant and said that a non-custodial sentence was an
option for the court.
Justice Paul Coghlan said the crime was serious but
the boy's undertaking to give evidence against his co-accused
meant the probation sentence was warranted.
Coghlan said if the teenager had not pleaded guilty
and not agreed to assist the prosecution of his co-accused,
the 16-year-old would have spent two years in a youth justice
centre.