Robbed while kids at home
A mob of burglars from the Dandenong region who stormed into a Pakenham house of sleeping children just before midnight have been sentenced.
Padiet Deng, 25, Kena Ibsa, 24, Bishoy George, 21, and Eric Bizimungu, 24, pleaded guilty at the Victorian County Court to aggravated burglary, theft and possessing cannabis.
Armed with a metal baseball bat and a taser, three of the men smashed a front door window and broke into the Greendale Boulevard house in October 2021.
At the time, three adults and four young children were inside – most of them asleep.
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Jail time fury
Jason Langhans was trying to stop two boys from fighting at a 16th birthday party in Tooradin when one of them turned on him.
He was hit in the head with a screwdriver and immediately collapsed to the ground as a brawl broke out. The 17-year-old died in hospital three weeks later. His attacker, who cannot be named, had gate crashed the party that evening in March 2021.
Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth said Jason had no chance to defend himself when he was fatally hit by the teen, as she sentenced him on Thursday 24 August. Jason’s supporters shouted from the Supreme Court public gallery, as they learnt the now-18-year-old killer could walk free from prison in two years.
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Doug’s legacy
The achievements and actions of Bill Pearson and the late Doug Hamilton represent a love for the value of farming and community.
It’s their work that led the Victorian Farmers Federation Cardinia branch to grant a posthumous Agricultural Achievement Award to Mr Hamilton and an Agricultural Achievement Award to Mr Pearson.
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Footy bid rejected
The presidents of three powerhouse rival football clubs that had applications to join the Mornington Peninsula Football Netball League (MPFNL) rejected are united in their disappointed with the outcome, with Pakenham Football Club President Derrick Brown describing the result as leaving “a sour taste“.
The MPFNL advertised for expressions
of interest to join the competition in 2024 in June, with ambitions of creating a third division in the football and netball competitions.
Chair of the MPFNL Board Graham Sherry said at the time that the expansion to three divisions was an “integral step in the long-term sustainability of the competition”.
Pakenham, Narre Warren and Cranbourne
all leapt at the opportunity, alongside South Mornington, Carrum Patterson Lakes and Frankston Dolphins, but had their applications rejected this week, unable to secure the approval vote of 75 per cent of existing MPFNL clubs.
The outcome means NarreWarren and Pakenham will remain in Outer East Football Netball, while Cranbourne stays in the Southern
Football Netball League.
The decision was communicated to the applying club’s presidents on Thursday morning, 24 August.
Brown told Star News that Pakenham applied to move competitions with the long-term future of the club in mind.
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Julianne and Scott Hamilton received the VFF Cardinia Agricultural Achievement Award on behalf of their late father Doug. 356696
Picture: MATTHEW SIMS
