Police arrest man over alleged drunken assault in Wulagi
Northern Territory police have arrested a 38-year-old man in connection with an alleged assault in the Darwin suburb of Wulagi in the early hours of Saturday.
The 28-year-old male victim is in the Royal Darwin Hospital in a serious condition with head injuries, after being punched and kicked unconscious by a man.
Witness Jayden Marafioti said he and a friend had just arrived home on Wulagi Crescent after midnight when they heard noise outside.
"We heard a man getting pushed in the fence right over there, and he was thrown to the ground and repeatedly hit and kicked in the ribs and left to bleed out on the floor," he said.
"That's where we jumped the fence to help him out and roll him on his side and stop him from choking, I guess.
"He was bleeding out of the mouth and nose and temple area, and he wasn't really conscious. At one point it sounded like he stopped breathing."
Duty Superintendant Louise Jorgensen said alcohol was a factor in the alleged assault.
"One punch can kill; we take these incidents very seriously," she said.
"The incident seems to have stemmed from something that happened at a party at a nearby residence.
"We certainly know alcohol was a factor in the offence."
Superintendant Jorgensen said police arrested the suspect Saturday afternoon at a Malak residence.
