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Andrew Gosling, the Australian man who hurled a wine bottle from a seventh floor condominium lift landing in 2019 that fatally wounded a 73-year-old grandfather, was sentenced to five years and six months in jail on Apr. 8, reported The Straits Times.

Gosling, now 49, was one month into his job search in Singapore when he got drunk and harboured hostile thoughts about the Muslim community, which led him to throw a wine bottle to startle a Malay-Muslim family gathered on the fifth-floor barbecue area at the Spottiswoode 18 condominium for a housewarming event, according to Today.

The wine bottle that killed the 73-year-old delivery driver Nasiari Sunee, also ricocheted and severely wounded his wife, 69-year-old Manisah Sitri, whose arm had to be in a sling for two months.

Took 10 days to surrender himself to authorities

On Aug. 18, 2019, Gosling was drinking alcohol when he looked down from his seventh-floor balcony and saw a group of about 15 Malay-Muslims gathering at a barbecue area two storeys below, reported ST.

During investigations, Gosling admitted that he thought of using a weapon, "such as a gun", to shoot the group.

But he later dismissed the thought as it would be a "heinous" act.

At 8:30pm, Gosling left his apartment to throw rubbish in the common chute at the lift lobby, where he found an empty wine bottle.

He threw the wine bottle at the family to "startle" them, then ran from the scene and shouted crude and religiously charged vulgarities about Muslims.

The wine bottle struck Nasiari's head, fracturing his skull.

The bottle then ricocheted off Nasiari's head and hit his wife's right shoulder, causing her to suffer extensive bruising, among other injuries, reported Today.

Nasiari was conveyed to Singapore General Hospital in an unresponsive state and later died the next morning.

After the incident, the police interviewed all residents in the condominium.

When two officers interviewed Gosling and showed him the bottle, he lied and said he had never seen it before, reported ST.

After realising that the fingerprints and DNA he provided police can be used to track him down, he finally surrendered on Aug. 28, 2019, 10 days after the incident.

"Religiously aggravated" offences

In sentencing Gosling, the judge agreed with prosecutors that the offences were "religiously aggravated" as Gosling had demonstrated hostility towards Muslims, reported Today.

Prosecutors told the court he had committed the offences as he was "angry and upset" over terrorist attacks by Islamic fundamentalist groups in Bali and Melbourne that had killed Australian citizens, according to ST.

A psychiatric report stated that Gosling's anti-Muslim thoughts at the time of the offences were "obsessive negative thoughts" that he was prone to when intoxicated, and was not a representation of his true feelings and intentions.

Gosling's lawyers said in earlier court proceedings that the thoughts Gosling verbalised were a product of his disinhibited and impaired mental state.

The prosecutors stressed that Gosling had harboured these hostile thoughts against Muslims and acted on them when he aimed and threw the bottle towards Nasiari's table.

According to Today, the judge said such offences could "seriously undermine" Singapore's racial and religious harmony and must not be tolerated.

The judge also accepted that Gosling was truly remorseful for his actions, even though it took him days to surrender.

Gosling had also reportedly voluntarily paid some compensation to the family.

Gosling was sentenced to four years' jail for causing the death of Nasiari, and 18 months for seriously injuring Nasiari's wife, to be served consecutively.

Couple had been married 45 years

According to Today, Nasiari and Manisah were married for 45 years.

Manisah took some time to come to terms with her husband's death, and often experienced flashbacks of the incident.

Though she tries to stay strong for her children, she would cry to herself when alone.

After the court hearing, Manisah told reporters she was thankful her four children were with her and said what had happened was "fate", reported Today.

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Top photo via 9News and Mohammed Nafis/FB