Shepparton fruit pickers sentenced following death of Umit Bolat

Jun 26, 2020

Two Shepparton fruit pickers have been sentenced to jail following the death of Tatura man Umit Bolat in 2018.

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Boon Ping Lee and Lee Chen Kong faced Melbourneâ€™s Supreme Court this morning for sentencing after each pleaded guilty to common assault and assisting an offender.

Lee was sentenced to two years and six months in jail with a non-parole period of 18 months.

Kong was sentenced to two years in jail with a non-parole period of 12 months.

Both the accused have already served 625 days in pre-sentence detention.

The court heard Mr Bolat died on August 13, 2018 after he was beaten and assaulted with objects including metal gym weights, a wooden stick and a metal pole while at a property in Hill Rd, Lemnos.

His body was later dumped in the Murray River near Cobram East where it was recovered by police on October 11, nearly two months after his death.

The court heard both Lee and Kong were originally charged with murder however their charges were downgraded earlier this year.

Both Lee and Kong are Malaysian citizens who were in Australia unlawfully when the offending occurred.

By McPherson Media Group