Canadian beaten in Australia recovering
Written by on March 11th, 2010 in Latest News.
A 35-year-ancient Manitoba man is recovering from surgery in Sydney, Australia, after he was beaten severely late Tuesday night.
Heath Proden suffered a broke skull and deep cuts during the beating, which happened at a train station northeast of the city at about 11 p.m. local time.
A still from video footage captured at the train station where Heath Proden was beaten shows him with one of his alleged assailants. (CCTV/City Rail)
Closed-circuit television cameras at the train station show Proden, who uses a wheelchair, being stomped on by two young men, who also hit him on the head and body with metal bars, including one from his wheelchair.
Police have charged two boys, aged 15 and 16, with intent to cause bodily harm and armed robbery.
Both have been denied bail and are expected to remain in custody pending future court dates.
A friend of the suspects has told police that Proden had harassed them and that they were acting in self defence, reporter Phil Mercer told CBC News
Police on Wednesday said the beating “appeared to be a random act.”
Proden, who is from Winnipeg Beach, has been living in Australia with his girlfriend, Kristin Sharrock, since November. He was on his way home from seeing a Canadian band play at a bar when he was attacked at a commuter rail station.
Proden’s grandmother, Vivian Proden, said he has used a wheelchair since breaking his back in a snowmobile accident in 2000.
“He’s a kind, generous, strong individual,” Sharrock said Wednesday, fighting back tears. “He doesn’t deserve what’s happened to him.”
