Liam McNally
Two men have been sent to prison following an aggravated home invasion in which a man was shot in the face in Wyndham Vale.
The County Court heard that in the early hours of July 8, 2021 Thiep Thiep and Deng Kuol, who were affiliated with Melbourne gang Black Drill Kings (BDK), targetted a home in Wyndham Vale in retaliation over the stabbing of a friend weeks earlier.
The victim, Mr Atem, awoke to Thiep, Kuol and two other men with their faces covered smashing through his rear glass sliding door with a chair.
An altercation ensued in which Mr Atem, while trying to stop the intruders, was hit with a chair, struck with a garden stake to the head five or six times, and stabbed twice before Thiep let off two shots from his .22 calibre handgun.
The second bullet hit Mr Atem to the left side of his nose and travelled through his head, lodging behind his right ear.
The commotion caused other members of the household – Mr Atem’s mother, wife and four children – to wake up and scream, leading the invaders to flee the home.
Kuol was arrested on March 9, 2022, and was interviewed at Keilor Downs Police Station where he eventually admitted to his role in the offending.
Kuol said at the time he was affected by drugs and told police “if I could take it back, I would.”
The court also heard how on November 30, 2021, Thiep was involved in an aggravated burglary of a jewellery store in Footscray in which he and two others smashed their way through with sledgehammers and stole approximately $428,560 worth of goods while the owners were inside.
In a victim impact statement Mr Atem said he and his family came to Australia for a better life but that hope has been destroyed.
He said he lives in fear and is hypervigilant to his surroundings. The nightmares cause him to jump out of bed, he is unable to socialise or work and remains in constant pain as a result of the physical injuries.
Judge Pardeep Tiwana sentenced Thiep to nine years and nine months in prison for nine charges, and Kuol was sentenced to six years and nine months for two charges.
