Intimidation case against ex-Albury mayor Henk van de Ven hears defence submissions

The 72-year-old is facing a charge of stalking or intimidating brought by then fellow council candidate Ross Hamilton after an incident outside an election pre-polling site on Smollett Street on December 1, 2021.

Police alleged van de Ven threatened to punch Mr Hamilton in the face which was supported by seven witnesses and Mr Hamilton's testimonies at a hearing at Albury Local Court on August 22.

However, on Wednesday, lawyer for van de Ven, Mark Cronin, said the witnesses' testimonies heard by the court on August 22 were inconsistent with each other.

One of the defence submissions made the point that witnesses who gave evidence last week had differing versions of what was actually said.

One witness last week said van de Ven said "I thought about punching you in the face - how's that for a thought?", while another said "I want to punch you in the face", while another used the word "nose" instead of "face".

Another submission said different adjectives had been used to describe van de Ven's demeanor that day ranging from "angry" and "hostile" to "grumpy".

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The prosecution said the defence had attempted to disallow witness Eli Davern's testimony in that Mr Davern wasn't present at the time of the alleged intimidation and only stated what was said later that day, however, the prosecution insisted Mr Davern's evidence was relevant to the case.

The prosecution said Mr Davern was not contesting the council election and had nothing to gain at the time by giving evidence to police about van de Ven's behaviour towards him that day.

In regard to the testimony given as to van de Ven's alleged verbal threat, Mr Cronin said: "The court must be satisfied with what was actually said."

The hearing is adjourned to Albury Local Court until September 2 when it is expected Magistrate Sally McLaughlin will hand down a decision.

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