‘Inexplicably cruel’ man sets his buddy on fire because he bought $7 worth of the wrong type of petrol for his lawnmower
- Mildura man who set his friend on fire and doused him in petrol has been jailed
- Horror act sparked by friend buying unleaded instead of two-stroke petrol
- Victim suffered burns to 20 per cent of body and still traumatised by ordeal
- Judge slammed Meyers’ actions as ‘utterly unjustified’ and ‘inexplicably cruel’
A man doused mate’s crotch in petrol and repeatedly set him on fire with a lighter for buying the wrong fuel.
Kahn Meyers, 20, gave his friend $7 to buy fuel for his lawnmower and was infuriated when he returned with unleaded car petrol instead of two-stroke gas.
His mate ended up an induced coma and is traumatised by Meyers’ ‘inexplicably cruel’ actions nine months on, the County Court of Victoria heard on Tuesday.
Meyers pleaded guilty to recklessly causing serious injury at his home in Mildura in Victoria’s north-west on July 20 last year.
A man who set his mate on fire with a lighter and doused his crotch in petrol in July 2020 was later arrested and remanded in custody several days after the incident (stock image)
The court heard Meyers doused petrol from a jerry can onto the other man’s crotch before he was interrupted by someone arriving at the Tenth Street property, Mildura News reported.
Meyers later created a puddle of water and told the friend, ‘if it gets too big… roll on the grass’.
The court heard Meyers tried to ignite the victim’s pants again with a lighter before pouring more petrol his crotch, causing him to burst into flames.
The horrific incident occurred at a property in Tenth Street Mildura (pictured), the court heard
Meyers tried to extinguish the flames by hosing off the victim and dragged him into the puddle of water. He later ran a cold shower to cool the burns, the court heard.
He then asked another friend to buy burns cream, who was told by the chemist that the victim should go to hospital.
The court was also told Meyers ordered his victim to lie and say his burns were inflicted by a cigarette falling into the lawnmower.
The victim attended Mildura Base Hospital suffering burns to a fifth of his body, where he was admitted to intensive care and put in an induced coma.
He was later transferred to The Alfred Hospital burns unit in Melbourne.
Kahn Meyers was sentenced in the County Court of Victoria (pictured) this week
He told the court in a victim impact statement he was profoundly affected by the excruciating pain exacerbated by an ambulance not being called.
Meyers’ legal team argued in court he had a mental impairment and dropped out of school before he was a teen.
But Judge Justin Hannebery believed Meyers understood the potential consequences of his ‘utterly unjustified’ and ‘inexplicably cruel’ actions.
‘He posed you no threat,’ Judge told Meyers. ‘He had done nothing but try to help you.’
Meyers was jailed three years and nine months with a non-parole period of two years and three months.
He has been in custody since July 22 last year and will be eligible to apply for parole in October 2022.
