Tuifao fronts court for carjacking, car crash into Bendigo hospital

Matthew Tuifao, 22, is facing 18 charges including for a "bad carjacking", an unlawful assault, wilful damage of property and theft in Bendigo.

Tuifao, who first came to Australia from New Zealand in 2013, has been remanded to reappear in court later this month for further plea.

The court heard Mr Tuifao pleaded guilty to all charges, many of which occurred when he was very drunk. He also suffers from PTSD and substance abuse disorder.

The court heard Mr Tuifao is facing charges for the following matters:

July 31, 2023

Tuifao attacked a man leaving a High Street unit block around 11.30pm. The man saw Tuifao urinating nearby before smashing a bottle when the man walked past.

Tuifao then grabbed the victim by the throat once he was in his car. The court heard the victim said, "no, no, no, bro" before he was punched three times in the head and dragged from the vehicle before a witness intervened. CCTV captured the carjacking.

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The court was told Tuifao had scissors at one point during the attack but did not use them against the victim.

Tuifao went on to steal the victim's vehicle, despite not holding a licence, which he drove down High Street with the lights off before turning onto Lily Street, colliding into a portable at St John of God Hospital.

The airbags deployed and Tuifao then ran to Barnard Street.

At 11.35pm a witness saw Tuifao on Barnard Street and called 000.

Shortly after Tuifao smashed the window of a vehicle and climbed onto scaffolding on a home around 200 metres from the collision.

He was arrested while heavily alcohol affected by Bendigo Police and was also discovered to be carrying cannabis.

In the early hours of August 1, 2023, Tuifao refused to comply with an evidentiary blood test and also urinated against a cell door.

The court was told the crash at St John of God Hospital delayed planned surgery and caused staff to be sent home.

Tuifao told police during an interview, "I was really drunk".

For these events he is facing 10 charges including carjacking, unlawful assault, unlicensed driving, careless driving of a motor vehicle, wilfully damage property, possess a drug of dependence, refuse undergo further breath test and commit indictable offence while on bail.

Magistrate Russell Kelly acknowledged the "genuine" victim impact statement from the man targeted who detailed losing work as a result of not having a car.

Magistrate Kelly also said Tuifao was in "his own little world - not to minimise the offending".

May 19, 2023

He was kicked off a bus after yelling at passengers in White Hill, before stealing items from a car.

For this night he is charged with theft from motor vehicle, tamper with motor vehicle, possessing a prohibited weapon without exemption - namely a credit card flick knife, being drunk in a public place and failing to answer bail.

29 April, 2023

Attended JB Hi Fi in Bendigo and stole two pairs of headphones making no attempt to pay.

Theft was captured on CCTV and he was not interviewed by police.

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18 December, 2022

Tuifao fell asleep in a victim's vehicle which was parked in their driveway.

Witnesses spotted him in the vehicle around 6am before alerting the victim who had been sleeping in his home.

The witnesses and victim proceeded to tap on the window to wake Tuifao and they asked him if he was trying to steal the car.

He said "yeah" before asking, "how else am I supposed to get home?"

The court heard he tried to incite a fight with the witnesses and victim and was then arrested and taken to the Bendigo Police Station where he urinated on a wall and door.

In an interview with police he denied trying to steal the vehicle.

The court heard he said to police "why would I steal a Holden Astra?"

He also said he could not remember a lot because he had drunk a lot, while the court heard he was "extremely intoxicated".

The court heard that Tuifao frequently "drinks until he is blackout drunk" and gets "caught red-handed almost every time".

Tuifao was described as having sustained "a number of knocks to the head" over the years, including with a baseball bat.

The court heard he had become "paranoid" and felt he was being targeted by police and other prisons while in custody, and had faced multiple 23 hour stints in "the slot".

His defence team said he had also "essentially been stabbed with an item" while inside.

Tufaio has already served two months and will return to the Bendigo Magistrates' Court later this month for further plea.

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