A man accused of stabbing a tradie during a dramatic citizen’s arrest in Melbourne’s CBD has been refused bail after a chilling court appearance on Friday evening.
Hakan Sahin, 32, from Dallas in the city’s north, appeared at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court charged with affray, recklessly causing injury, and possessing a controlled weapon without excuse.
The court heard Sahin was armed with a 15cm knife when he allegedly lunged at a member of the public who was waiting for a carpark elevator on Lonsdale Street just after 6am.
He then fled, swinging the knife at a second bystander near the carpark entrance.
‘He hunched forward, increased his pace… the member of the public backed away cautiously from Sahin and positioned boom gates between them,’ the police prosecutor told the court, according to news.com.au.
‘Sahin made a brief lunge before turning around and walking back into Lonsdale Street.’
Tradie Michael Webster, 41, had parked his car in the underground carpark nearby and witnessed Sahin’s erratic behaviour.
Fearing someone would be stabbed, he began warning others and followed Sahin, joined by two other men.
Tradie Michael Webster saw the man, and followed him, concerned he would attack someone
‘As the three members of the public grappled with Sahin, Webster attempted to remove the knife from his pocket,’ the prosecutor said.
‘Sahin resisted and the knife was lodged into the right inner thigh of Webster.’
Webster was rushed to St Vincent’s Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The other two men were unharmed.
In a disturbing police interview, Sahin claimed he was responding to a voice he heard ‘via hotspot’, telling him a woman was being raped and assaulted by a group of men.
‘He stated he was trying to find the men and if he did find any person he believed to be associated with the female, he would stab them,’ the prosecutor said.
No woman was seen on CCTV footage.
Defence lawyer Nikail Sood said his client had a ‘clear mental impairment’ and was suffering from delusional beliefs.
Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge agreed.
The incident happened at the corner of Lonsdale and Elizabeth street (file image pictured)
‘These alleged offences seem to have occurred when Mr Sahin was completely delusional but holding very dangerous, delusional beliefs,’ he said.
‘He causes a great deal of fear and consternation to the extent that members of the public feel compelled to intervene, where one ends up with a knife injury.’
Mr Sahin was refused bail and will return to court on January 20.
The incident is yet another knife related attack in the Melbourne CBD just weeks after sushi worker Wan Lai was stabbed on Little Bourke Street.