A jealous boyfriend who rammed his car into a Sydney McDonald’s in an attempt to run over his partner claimed he did it because his mind was being manipulated by his PlayStation 5, a court has heard.
Abbas Hayder Al Khafaji, 28, met with the Sydney Downing Center on Friday ahead of his sentencing in March to explain how he had written a “letter of apology” to the court and his victims. Taka was examined.
Al Khafaji said in the letter that the incident at McDonald’s happened because the television, PlayStation 5 and car radio “manipulated” his mind.
Michael Fantin, al-Khafaji’s lawyer, used the letter to argue in court that he had an “underlying mental health condition” that should be taken into account at sentencing.
The court also heard that when Al Khafaji was detained at Narellan Police Station after the incident, he told police that he was being “controlled by a PS5 and a mobile phone.”
The dramatic scenes date back to February 2022, when Al Khafaji crashed into a fast food restaurant and jumped out of the car brandishing a knife.
Mr Al Khafaji was then seen on surveillance video approaching the victim and accusing her of cheating on him. The 23-year-old’s manager intervened and called the police.
Judge Tanya Smith on Friday heard how Mr Al Khafaji was diagnosed with mental illness in 2019 and had stopped taking his medication at the time of the incident.
He was also consuming marijuana.
Mr Fantin said his client was not in control and “not himself” at the time of the incident, which was outlined by the victim’s account of what happened.
“She says this is not someone I recognize.” [in her statement]” said his lawyer.
“This man keeps asking her, “Where have you been?” But he’s calm. He’s not yelling at her, he’s just repeating himself.”
Mr Al Khafaji had previously been charged with a number of offenses, including using an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence, destroying or damaging property valued between $5,000 and $15,000, and breaching the terms of an AVO. Pleaded guilty to the charges.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 28th.
