Kobe St John Ruse: Former prisoner accused of blinding Hakea cellmate in brutal attack found not guilty

A former Hakea Prison detainee has been acquitted of grievous bodily harm after going on trial, accused of blinding his cellmate in one eye in a vicious, unwitnessed attack. Kobe St John Ruse admitted he punched Kenny Meng Wai Ng twice during an altercation in July 2023, inflicting injuries consistent with his charge. The 48-year-old went on trial in the District Court of WA this week, with prosecutor Samuel Lindsay saying the pair had been locked in for the night when the violence erupted. After the emergency button was pressed, guards found Mr Ruse pacing back and forth and agitated, while the much smaller 59-year-old Malaysia-born man was bleeding from multiple head injuries, Mr Lindsay said. Mr Ng was hospitalised, suffering a fractured nose, lacerations and large hematomas. Mr Lindsay said he had undergone glaucoma surgery nine days earlier and the violence either caused or significantly contributed to him winding up completely blind in his left eye. Mr Ng testified through a Cantonese interpreter over videolink from a remote room, claiming Mr Ruse launched an attack while he was brushing his teeth, after they had been sharing a room for one week. But defence counsel Abigail Rogers said the complainant had serious credibility issues, arguing her client was acting in self-defence after waking up on the top bunk to find Mr Ng touching his genitals. Ms Rogers said Mr Ruse’s version of events was that he leapt down, screamed at Mr Ng to “f... off” then punched back after his cellmate took a swing at him. Mr Ng had earlier been pressuring Mr Ruse to perform a sexual act on him and demanding his family pay his surety, she said. Mr Ruse was acquitted on Thursday.