A serial violent offender has escaped time behind bars despite committing a third "identical" drunken assault in a Canberra nightclub.
Ati Tuivasa Lalofau Ati, 28, walked out of the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday without spending a day in custody for his most recent crime.
The man previously pleaded guilty to a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, related to an attack carried out "without any provocation or warning".
He received a seven-month intensive correction order to be served in the community.
CCTV footage played in court captures Tuivasa Lalofau Ati being approached by a security guard at Hopscotch nightclub in Braddon about 10pm on December 22, 2022.
Seen to push another man, Tuivasa Lalofau Ati was "belligerent and aggressive" when the security guard asked him what the problem was and eventually to leave the premises.
Without warning, the offender punched the victim in the face.
The security guard fell to the ground and, as seen on video, Tuivasa Lalofau Ati tried throwing several more wild punches while being restrained by friends.
The landed punch caused the victim's tooth to "penetrate straight through the right lower lip".
Tuivasa Lalofau Ati was arrested by police and was "verbally dismissive and aggressive" towards officers.
"The defendant was agitated and continued to challenge police as to why he was under arrest," court documents state.
He was shortly after released from custody.
On Wednesday, prosecutor Estelle Narouz told the court Tuivasa Lalofau Ati's "disproportionate response" to the security guard trying to do his job was the offender's third drunken assault in five years.
Tuivasa Lalofau Ati was previously convicted for separate affray and assault occasioning actual bodily harm charges, breaching court conditions imposed as part of two community sentences.
The man, Ms Narouz said, has "already had the benefit of leniency from the court" and previous convictions had "not deterred reoffending".
The prosecutor said Tuivasa Lalofau Ati's alcohol-fuelled violent behaviour posed a risk to the community.
Legal Aid lawyer Sam Brown said his client, who was attending a Christmas party on the night in question, was "crying out for support".
The community, Mr Brown said, would be best served by Tuivasa Lalofau Ati rehabbing and addressing criminogenic factors like alcohol.
Magistrate Jane Campbell said Tuivasa Lalofau Ati had demonstrated good behaviour in the 12 months since his last assault and without that, she would have had "no hesitation" imposing full-time custody.
The man received an intensive correction order, despite an assessment deeming him unsuitable for the community-based sentence due to his regular cannabis use.
He may be subject to a curfew and has been ordered to engage with a specialist behaviour change program.
