Kevin Foley attacked again
The state's police minister, Kevin Foley, has revealed he was attacked on the weekend when out at a restaurant.
After calling a press conference today, the former treasurer said he was verbally abused and then later assaulted in the toilets of the restaurant by a man.
Earlier that night he had been at the opening of the Cabaret Festival with the Premier and then after he went to the Royal Lounge on Gouger St with a friend at around 9.30pm.
"I was verbally abused by a gentleman who was clearly under the influence of some substance," Mr Foley said.
"About 15 minutes before I’d even had something to eat or a drink, about, it must’ve been quarter to ten I guess, I went into the toilet as one does,"
"There were three men in the large cubicle in the toilet, I’m not going to question what they were up to but it was clearly something odd,"
"I was verbally abused from one of those gentleman - I’d simply inquired as to what the problem was - and before I knew it a gentleman burst through the doors and grabbed me by the jaw and pushed me up against the wall."
The other men in the toilets pulled then pulled the attacker away from him.
"I took it upon myself to call the police, I was concerned about my safety and that of my guest," he said.
"It was very early, well early on a Saturday night, it must’ve been around 10 o’clock by then, and I waited for the police to arrive, and these people fled the venue."
In November last year Mr Foley was king-hit outside of Marble Bar on Waymouth St.
His alleged attacker, Ante Grigic, has been charged and is waiting on a court hearing.
Mr Foley admits he is shaken, but has ruled out quitting politics any time soon.
"There's no question that this is hard to take, I cop a fair bit of abuse when I'm out," he said.
When Mr Foley was asked by a journalist why he still goes out in public, Mr Foley was visibly upset.
"I've got to have a life," he said, before walking out.
