A Wongawilli man who allegedly bit another man's eyebrow off after spewing a foul proposition to two other women has argued that he was acting involuntarily during the wild brawl.
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Jeremy Psaila, 35, has pleaded not guilty to charges of affray and reckless wounding arising from a brawl that occurred between 2.40 and 2.50am on August 14, 2022 on Crown Street, Wollongong.
During a hearing in Wollongong Local Court on Friday, April 12, CCTV footage was played to the court of the fight that erupted outside Omar's Kebab Shop.
Police allege that after leaving the Mr Crown nightclub, Psaila propositioned two young women for an unwanted threesome, which sparked a fight with another man who was chaperoning the two women.
The fracas spilled out into an all-out brawl, during which Muscat hit Psaila with a bottle and multiple blows were exchanged between the two groups.
During the fight, Psaila allegedly bit Muscat's eyebrow, causing a portion of flesh to detach from his face. Afterwards, Psaila can be seen falling to the ground, where he is kicked in the head by Muscat, causing him to lose consciousness.
Psaila and Muscat were both taken to hospital under police guard.
Muscat was placed on a two year community corrections order for his role in the brawl in July last year.
During the hearing, the court heard from Dr Susan van den Berg who assessed Psaila in January 2024.
Dr van den Berg testified that Psaila had no recollection of the events of August 14, 2022 and had issues with his memory.
"Coupled with alcohol use and a head injury, this would have affected his memory significantly of the night," Dr van den Berg said.
Prosecutor sergeant Chris Manning questioned Dr van den Berg whether Psaila, at the time of the brawl, would have known what he was doing.
Dr van den Berg said it was possible that Psaila was acting involuntarily.
Psaila's lawyer Caitlin Akthar argued that this showed that the prosecution was unable to prove that Psaila's actions were voluntary.
However, Sgt Manning said that with CCTV showing Psaila dodging attacks and retaliating, he was aware of what he was doing.
Magistrate Michael Love reserved his decision. Psaila will return to Wollongong Local Court on June 6.
