A random one-punch attack outside a notorious Canberra nightclub has been described as "unprovoked, indefensible" and "brutal".
"The defendant walked away unashamed, showing no remorse or concern for the victim," prosecutor Mitchell Greig said on Monday.
Gloire Tchitende Madjaga, 25, walked free after being sentenced in the ACT Magistrates Court to an almost 10-month jail sentence, which the man had just served in custody.
The Congo-born man pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, assaulting a front-line community service provider and failing to comply with direction without reasonable excuse.
Madjaga breached three separate good behaviour orders with the offences, which all took place at different times between 2021 and 2022.
The coward punch assault, which was recorded on CCTV and played in court, occurred outside Mooseheads nightclub in Civic about 3.30am on October 22, 2022.
Footage showed the male victim, who was a stranger to the intoxicated Madjaga, leaving the nightclub before being knocked unconscious by the offender close to its entrance.
Court documents state Madjaga "stands over [the victim] with both of his fists clenched" before walking away.
The victim suffered a concussion and received four staples in the back of his head due to a laceration.
"It is very fortunate for you, Mr Madjaga, that's all that occurred," magistrate Jane Campbell said on Monday.
"As we've seen time and time again in the media and in these courts, a one-punch attack can cause death."
The offender was also sentenced after he drunkenly assaulted a police officer in the early morning of July 30, 2021, in Civic, near Cube nightclub.
Madjaga grabbed and pushed the officer, who was attending to three aggressive men and who had pushed away a woman attempting to intervene.
Ms Campbell said the offender told police: "You can't push a woman."
Defence barrister Steven Whybrow SC admitted footage of the coward punch was "not pretty" and described his client as engaging in a "misguided sense of chivalry" during the police assault.
Mr Whybrow said Madjaga's issues arose "from the concept that nothing good ever happens after midnight" and that the man could follow conditions to stay out of Civic late at night.
The magistrate said she did not know what caused the offender to commit the one-punch attack.
"This type of offending causes people to fear for their safety because of the random nature of it," she said.
She also noted the offender was not willing to deal with his "alcohol issues" and had a history of failing to appear and complying with court conditions.
"This is showing me you have an issue with authority and people telling you what to do and how to live your life," the magistrate said.
Ms Campbell resentenced Madjaga for the three good behaviour order breaches, as well as sentencing the offender to an additional eight months in relation to the two most recent assault charges.
Madjaga is now set to serve a three-month good behaviour order for failing to comply with a health order, which occurred when the man was intoxicated and out early in August 2021 against lockdown directions.
"It's up to you what you do with that," Ms Campbell said.
