Charges withdrawn against 12-year-old in fatal Melbourne grocer assault
A magistrate ordered the removal of all charges against a 12-year-old boy involved in the group attack that led to grocer Van Viet Truong’s death, citing the legal presumption of doli incapax.
In a Melbourne children’s court, a magistrate announced that all accusations against a 12-year-old boy would be withdrawn because prosecutors failed to overcome the doli incapax presumption that children under 14 cannot appreciate the criminality of their conduct. The boy had been listed among four teenagers charged with violent disorder, intentional serious injury, affray and related offences tied to the fatal assault on grocer Van Viet Truong.
Truong, aged 60, suffered severe head trauma after being pulled to the pavement while intervening in a shop robbery, and died days later in hospital. The case also involves a 15-year-old charged with manslaughter, two 14-year-old girls facing reduced charges, and a 13-year-old whose charges were earlier dismissed. The court’s decision underscores the challenges of prosecuting very young offenders under Australian law.
Why it matters
The ruling highlights how the doli incapax principle limits prosecution of children under 14 for serious crimes.
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