Add The New York Post on Google Two teenagers accused of breaking into a Werribee home and slashing a father across the face with a samurai sword were both on bail at the time.
One of the boys, 15, had appeared in the Children’s Court just hours before Monday’s alleged attack.
Gof Sritanaamorn was asleep beside his wife, Maynie Pechwong, when the teenagers allegedly jumped a side fence, smashed their way through the garage and entered the family’s Otterway Drive home.
The couple’s seven-year-old daughter was sleeping nearby.
“They try to attack me and then they ask for the car keys,” Sritanaamorn told the Herald Sun from his hospital bed via Zoom.
“They tried to go to my wife’s room, so I followed them because I tried to protect my wife and my daughter.
“My wife was looking for the car key and that’s when they used the knife to slash my face.”
Sritanaamorn said he was terrified but knew he had to get his family to safety.
“But I’m thinking about my daughter and my wife first.”
The boys allegedly took the keys to the family’s Mazda but then ran into another problem.
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They apparently could not figure out how to drive it. They reportedly spent more than 20 minutes inside the car and accidentally switched on its windscreen wipers while trying to start it.
“The boys were fighting because they couldn’t get the car started,” Pechwong said.
The teenagers then allegedly returned to the injured father and demanded his help.
“They couldn’t start the car, and then they came back to my house again to ask me to help start the car for them,” Sritanaamorn said.
“So I helped them start the car just so they could leave, and that’s when the police came just in time to catch them.”
Police boxed in the Mazda before arresting one boy. The other allegedly attempted to flee.
CCTV captured a police officer wrestling with one of the teenagers as a neighbor, armed with a baseball bat, ran over to help. The boy allegedly broke free but was later subdued and arrested.
“I’m lucky I have my neighbor to help,” Pechwong said.
“If I didn’t have my neighbor helping us, I don’t know what would’ve happened.
The Children’s Court heard the 15-year-old was on three counts of bail. His lawyer said his “engagement was really positive” before his latest arrest.
The teenager refused to leave the cells to appear in court on Tuesday and was remanded in custody alongside his 14-year-old co-accused.
The younger boy was expected to apply for bail again on Wednesday after spending his first night in custody.
Sritanaamorn remained in hospital on Tuesday with non-life-threatening facial injuries and was awaiting a CT scan.
