Two sought in CBD attack
POLICE are searching for two men who attacked a Hobart university student early yesterday, leaving him with multiple facial fractures.
Saul Lopa, 22, was punched and kicked repeatedly in the head by two young men who approached him and his two mates as they walked down Murray St towards the Salamanca taxi rank about 5.30am.
Mr Lopa suffered two fractured eye orbits, a broken nose and a suspected cheek fracture.
The softly spoken University of Tasmania business student and part-time nightclub bouncer, who appeared in an article in the Mercury in 2005 after his recovery from childhood cancer, has vowed never again to get so drunk that he is unable to defend himself and his friends.
Mr Lopa admitted he and his friends were very drunk after attending the university's annual Law Ball and the after-party at Ivory Lounge Bar.
But he said they were "carefree" and never expected to encounter such aggression.
"We were all dressed up because it was black-tie and then these two guys asked if we had cigarettes," Mr Lopa said.
"I said 'smoking's bad for your health' and one of the guys said 'I'll live for longer than you will'.
"We didn't expect any malice, we tried to laugh it off as a joke and one of my mates put his arm around the guy (who asked for cigarettes)," he said.
Mr Lopa said he stepped forward and tried to use his security guard training to talk the strangers out of fighting, which is when he was attacked.
Mr Lopa's friends said it appeared the attackers were trained in martial arts, judging by the number of kicks and punches landed in such a short time.
Mr Lopa, a talented rugby player, will find out in a few days if he needs surgery to insert plates in his face.
He said he would think twice before walking the streets of Hobart after a big night out in the future.
"I will go out again, I just won't drink as much and probably be smart about getting a taxi from where I am rather than walk to the taxi rank," Mr Lopa said.
http://www.themercury.com.au/art ... _tasmania-news.html |