Simon Paul Rule guilty of punching a 62-year-old after minor crash told victim accepts his remorseful apology

A South West man who punched a 62-year-old after a minor road accident has been told he is of “good character” by the victim in a heartwarming court hearing. Simon Paul Rule, 45, appeared in Bunbury Magistrates Court on Monday, February 14 and pleaded guilty to one charge of unlawful assault and thereby did bodily harm in circumstances of aggravation. At 8:50am on June 21, Rule entered a roundabout on Adam Road in South Bunbury when he was rear ended by a 62-year-old driver. Both drivers stopped and exited their vehicles before a verbal altercation ensued. Rule punched the 62-year-old on the left-side of his head, which resulted in the man to lose consciousness and fall and receive a small cut on his face. The accused then went to the aid of the man and stayed on scene until the man was attended to by paramedics before he was arrested by police. Rule was interviewed by police and said he had “no explanation” for the assault. Defence Lawyer Michael Devlin told the court the accused was remorseful and accepted the response was “unnecessary” in the situation. “To his credit, he stayed at the scene,” Mr Devlin said. The court heard Rule previously served in the Australian Military and suffered from symptoms of PTSD, which Mr Devlin noted was a likely reasoning to the assault. Magistrate Benjamin Tyers told the accused it was “concerning” how he reacted to the minor traffic incident. “You punched him once only, but it was hard enough to knock him out,” he said. However, Magistrate Tyers told the court the victim had written a “heartening” victim report following the assault, noting his appreciation for Rule’s “desire to apologise”. “I’m sure he did not leave home planning for something like this to happen,” the 62-year-old victim wrote. “For what it’s worth, it would be a learning experience.” Magistrate Tyers told the court he believed Rule had “considerable remorse.” Rule was fined $2000 payable to the victim and court costs.