A prison guard has admitted to knocking out a man during an early morning fight at a North Wollongong service station sparked by a whinge about COVID-19 restrictions.
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Dilan Varir, 25, pleaded guilty to a charge of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm at Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday.
Court documents reveal Varir, who works for Corrective Services NSW was with his girlfriend at the Flinders Street Ampol about 1.30am on January 1 this year when he joined her in line to pay for petrol.
They were joined in line by a group of three men, and another on his own who would become Varir's eventual victim.
The court heard the man spoke with the attendant through the night counter and asked for two drinks. The attendant walked into the store to get the items.
CCTV footage from the service station shows Varir getting into a "heated conversation" with the victim and the three other men.
Police allege the victim said "f--- this COVID shit you can't even go into a servo to get a drink, f--- this country", to which Varir responded "why don't you go back to where you came from then?"
The victim replied "f--- off" and he collected the items he had purchased.
Varir told police the victim then asked him to go around the corner to fight him, however Varir pushed him in the chest and gestured for him to walk away.
The man then turned around and kicked out at Varir, hitting him in the hip.
Varir grabbed the man and held him around the back of the neck and punched him to the left side of his face, before throwing him to the ground and kicking him in the face.
The victim's head swung backwards and he was rendered unconscious.
Varir walked away before he returned and assisted the victim by placing him on his side.
Police were contacted and Varir sat with the man until police arrived.
The victim told police he tripped and didn't want help. Varir provided his details to police and left the area.
Police spoke with the victim at Wollongong Hospital later that day.
He suffered fractures to his nose, eye socket, and cheek bone and was unable to open his right eye due to the swelling.
On January 5, the victim attended Wollongong Police Station to provide a statement but was unable to recall large portions of the evening.
The next day, Varir attended the station where he was arrested and entered into custody.
Police say Varir made full admissions to the assault and that he was remorseful for his actions.
The case was adjourned to July 19 for sentence.
Read more court and crime here.
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