Two women charged over alleged Gold Coast bus attack

Two women have been charged with serious assault by Queensland police following an alleged attack on an elderly man on a Gold Coast bus

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Police say two women have been charged with serious assault and public nuisance for an alleged attack on a 77-year-old man.

Gold Coast police say both the women are from New South Wales.

Both women, aged 17-years-old and 21-years-old are in police custody and are due to appear in court tomorrow.

They handed themselves into police after footage of the bus incident went viral.

The elderly man who was recorded being attacked by two women on a Gold Coast bus will make an official complaint, police say.

The incident, recorded by a commuter on a bus in Kirra on Tuesday, went viral after being posted to social media.

 

It shows two young women apparently dressed for a races meet punching, kicking and spitting at an elderly man.

 

One of the women is heard saying to the cowering victim: "Oh bro, we're in Abo land."

Afterwards, the elderly man can be heard telling other passengers that he couldn't see his attackers because he was partially blind.

Police said on Friday they had found the 77-year-old victim.

 

"Police have checked on the welfare of the man and he has bruising to his arms," a statement said.

Officers say the man will make a formal complaint to police.

Video footage, recorded by a 13-year-old girl, shows the incident only ended after a male passenger intervened and forced the women off the bus, throwing a handbag off after them.

The elderly victim was then helped back into his seat by other commuters and could be seen doubled over in pain.

The attack follows a string of similar incidents on public transport in Australia, including a racial attack on an Asian schoolboy in NSW last year and a French woman on a Melbourne bus being told to "speak English or die" in November 2012.

The incident has led to a social media backlash.


2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


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