Overview

• Echibaketa Byamungu, 21, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm for attacking bus driver Chun-hung Chiang at South Bank on June 20 after a 50-cent fare dispute.
• Deputy Chief Magistrate Anthony Gett imposed a six-month jail term wholly suspended for 18 months and ordered $1,000 in compensation to the victim.
• Byamungu appeared via video link from the Richlands watch house following his arrest on unrelated alleged offences and was refused bail on those matters.
• The court viewed a passenger-recorded video showing repeated punches, and the magistrate condemned the conduct as “deplorable and grotesque” while treating the driver’s role as an aggravating factor.
• Defence submissions noted a limited criminal history and a difficult upbringing, and the case fed union calls for stronger protections for public transport workers.