The decision of two Finks bikies not to give evidence about an alleged bashing at the hands of Rebels is unsurprising and not a "special or exceptional" circumstance in a bail application, a judge has ruled.
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Fakatounaulupe Ngata, 35, on Tuesday lost a bid for bail in the ACT Supreme Court, where he is facing accusations he helped bash and rob the two rival bikies in Belconnen in October.
CUTOFF vision appears to capture Ngata and two others James Newman, 27, and Dean Reid, 26, confront the men, assault them, and then strip them of clothing bearing the Finks emblem.
The two men were allegedly left shirtless and bleeding, but did not give evidence to police.
Ngata's bail application was his third, and he is also facing serious charges in NSW, meaning he had to show "special or exceptional circumstances" favouring his release.
One of the arguments put forward by barrister Steven Wybrow was that the alleged victims in the case had not given evidence at Ngata's committal from the ACT Magistrates Court and were unlikely to do so at the trial.
Associate Judge David Mossop agreed that the lack of evidence may weaken the Crown's case. But he described it as "unsurprising".
"In circumstances where both the applicant and the alleged victims are alleged to be involved with rival outlaw motorcycle gangs the position is not unsurprising," he wrote.
"The fact that the victims declined to assist police might be a fact demonstrating the weakness of the Crown case which conceivably could amount to special or exceptional circumstances.
"However the situation has not changed since the contested committal hearing where ... the magistrate considered that there was sufficient evidence to commit him for trial."
Mr Wybrow also argued the excessive time his client would have to spend in custody before a trial was also a special or exceptional circumstance.
Ngata has already spent 184 days in custody and is not likely to go on trial until late this year.
But Associate Judge Mossop said the charges were serious, and Ngata's record meant the time he would have already served was not likely to be hugely disproportionate to the sentence he may receive if convicted.
He found there were no special or exceptional circumstances, and refused Ngata bail.
The case will reappear at a later date in the ACT Supreme Court.
