A Hobart man who ‘coward punched’ another man will spend the next three months in jail after he was sentenced at the Hobart Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Kye Mathew John Langdon, aged 25, of Montrose, punched his victim so hard in the head he burst his eardrum.

Langdon fractured his own knuckles when he punched the man and required surgery.

The attack took place just after 3am on November 30, 2013 at the taxi rank in Castray Esplanade in Salamanca.
Senior Sergeant Craig Joel said:

“This was a completely unprovoked and cowardly attack on someone who was simply waiting for a taxi.

“Violence of any sort is unacceptable and this sort of violence is particularly cowardly.

“It shows that one punch can cause serious injury and it also shows that one punch can result in jail time.

“The message to anyone who thinks it’s entertainment to hit someone else is to think seriously about whether you want to end up in jail,” Senior Sergeant Joel said.

Langdon had been to a party at a bar in Salamanca before the attack.

Just a few minutes before he punched the victim he assaulted another man at the same taxi rank by pushing him over the railing and smacking him in the face.

He was also convicted of that assault.

Following the incident, CCTV images were circulated around police stations and in the media, resulting in Langdon being identified and arrested within just a few weeks.