Aussie sentenced for killing Dutchman

An Australian court has sentenced the man who last year killed a Dutchman with a single blow to the head, to five years and three months in prison.

Jason Graham Bridgland (22) was jailed for his fatal assault on Hagenees Henk van Oosterom (39) on September 1 2012.  The fatal altercation took place outside the Bushman Hotel in Gawler. Bridgland had been under the influence of drugs when he dealt Van Oosterom a blow that damaged an artery leading to his brain. The young father of a daughter dropped down and died shortly after in a hospital.

Bridgland had pleaded not guilty to manslaughter but the judge considered his guilt proven. That he had run away after the altercation and made no effort to assist Van Oosterum ater the fatal blow also weighed on his sentence. “It’s clear that you made no effort to return to the hotel or to contact police. Your only thought was to avoid detection,” Justice David Peek said, according to media in Australia. Two other men who were also charged with manslaughter in the case have been acquitted.

Van Oosterum's widow Sandra van der Klink who earlier said that Bridgland killed the love of her life and changed her and her daughter's lives forever, had no response to his sentence, reports Algemeen Dagblad newspaper, but her sister did. "No punishment is enough for this man. We're not cheering after the verdict, but we're happy he at least has to relinquish a couple of years of his life," said Priscilla van der Klink.