Oz race attack: Victims still don’t feel safe

Haikerwal,who was bashed unconscious by three men last year said: “I take no comfort that my assailants have been sentenced to jail terms.”

He said he still speaks slower than he used to and will forever bear a scar on his head and the ordeal had affected him greatly.

“If I didn’t have the luxury of two fully trained medical professionals (who came to his aid after the attack),my brother a cardiologist and my wife a GP … I would not be standing here today,” Haikerwal said.

Haikerwal was bashed as he walked through a Williamstown park in September last year. Indian community here has welcomed the sentence and said the move would help in reducing such incidents.

“I think it’s a good move. This particular sentence is a move in the right direction that will inculcate a fear of God in those people who are just going on attacking people senselessly” Gautam Gupta,head of the Federation of Indian Students of Australia of FISA,said.

“It is not really based on race issue and we as a community lobbied against the hate crime for last few years,” V Srinivasan,President of Indian Association Victoria,said.

“This 18 years of sentence to the attacker is a great news not only for the Indian community and Dr Haikerwal’s family and friends,it is for the entire Victorian society. It’s a relief that the sentences act is being reviewed and they are looking at severe penalties for those who are attacking people based on any other issues,” he added.