Matthew Sleeth, 45, of Mooroopna, pleaded guilty in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court to perjury.
The court heard a man was left with serious injuries after he was glassed by another man while the two were drinking at The Cricketer’s Arms Hotel where Sleeth was working as a bartender at 11.48pm on June 30, 2019.
The men, who had been drinking together at the pub earlier, asked Sleeth not to call an ambulance as it would mean police would become involved.
Police were alerted to the incident by hospital staff and then went to the pub the next morning to ask for footage from the night before.
The court heard Sleeth told police he had given the CCTV hard drive to two men who had gone to the pub and intimidated him to give it to them.
Police instead found the hard drive containing the CCTV footage behind a couch at the premises about 15 minutes later.
Sleeth’s defence solicitor Ruth Parker said the victim and man who allegedly stabbed him had been drinking at the pub when “suddenly a very violent fight erupted next to the bar” and one of the men was glassed.
She said her client had only been a publican at the time for six months, was inexperienced, and was alone late at night with the men and only a couple of others, who were also drinking.
Ms Parker said Sleeth did not call the ambulance because he knew the two men as “violent and dangerous men”.
“He did not want to be seen as helping police, as he was very afraid,” she said.
Ms Parker said it was not a case of Sleeth helping the man who did the stabbing, rather that he just “made a poor decision”.
“He panicked, late at night, and hid the CCTV behind a couch,” she said.
“This is an exceptional situation, that occurred quickly, he was terrified, and it came from panic and fear, rather than for a benefit.”
Ms Parker said within two-and-a-half hours Sleeth had apologised to police and the court was told there had been no other blemishes affecting his publican licence since this event.
Magistrate Victoria Campbell convicted Sleeth and sentenced him to an 18-month community corrections order, which includes 150 hours of community work.
She also ordered that he undergo treatment and rehabilitation for drug abuse or dependency and that he attend rehabilitation if required.
Sleeth will also be treated for mental health and will have to undergo programs to reduce his offending behaviour.
Ms Campbell also ruled up to 50 hours of treatment could count towards his community work hours.
“This is an extremely serious offence,” Ms Campbell said.
“While it was not planned or ongoing, general deterrence is the most significant thing here.”
