Sex worker recalls moment crime family boss gunned down

The Advertiser

3 days ago

A sex worker has broken down in tears as she recalled screaming for help when a major crime figure was gunned down in front of her, moments after sharing a meal.
When the woman left Kid Kyoto restaurant with Hamze crime family boss Bilal Hamze after dinner on June 17, 2021, she said they were laughing and jovial.
But then she heard a loud bang that prompted Hamze - who she knew as Bill - to start running, so she followed suit.
"I've never heard anything like it. I didn't know what it was," the sex worker said.
She recounted hiding in an alcove until the last of the gunshots rang out before running towards Hamze, who was lying face down on the footpath.
"I ran up to Bill and touched his arms and back and I was screaming 'stop' and 'help'," the woman said.
"I didn't know what to do."
She told a court she called triple-zero but was too distraught to speak so she hung up and attended to Hamze, who was making grunting noises.
Hamze sustained gunshot wounds to his abdomen, hip and elbow, later dying in hospital.
His last moments have been laid bare in the NSW Supreme Court trial of the man accused of his murder - rival Alameddine crime network associate Samuel John Rokomaqisa.
The 35-year-old pleaded not guilty to Hamze's murder, as well as conspiring to kill his brother Ibrahem Hamze and assaulting an elderly man during a carjacking.
It is alleged he committed the crimes to demonstrate his loyalty to the Alameddine gang and gain their trust so they would employ him.
But his lawyer claims there is no eyewitness evidence to place the Fijian man inside the black Audi seen to circle the block and pause beside Hamze when the rounds of shots were fired.
The heavily tinted windows impeded a taxi driver's view as the luxury car passed by, but he said he saw one of the windows lower a few centimetres when the car paused in front of him.
"As soon as the car stopped, I saw flashes and heard loud bangs coming from the front passenger window," he recalled in a statement read to the court.
"I believe these were gunshots ... I was scared for my life."
A nearby security guard also noted the tinted windows on the Audi, and said he was only able to see that the driver was wearing a blue surgical mask which covered much of his face.
In a triple zero call, eyewitness Carolyn Howard says that a car has driven by and fired "probably ten shots" at a man who was groaning and bleeding.
"He's not breathing," someone can be heard saying towards the end of the call.
Ms Howard told the jury she had been walking behind Hamze and the sex worker before the drive-by shooting, which she described as terrifying.
"I've never experienced anything like that," she said.
The sex worker received a number of texts and calls from a male friend around the time of Hamze's death, the jury was told.
Rokomaqisa's barrister previously said she had been communicating with a person of interest in the vicinity of the restaurant, who was described as "frantic" in sending messages and making calls at the time of the killing.
The trial continues.
A sex worker has broken down in tears as she recalled screaming for help when a major crime figure was gunned down in front of her, moments after sharing a meal.
When the woman left Kid Kyoto restaurant with Hamze crime family boss Bilal Hamze after dinner on June 17, 2021, she said they were laughing and jovial.
But then she heard a loud bang that prompted Hamze - who she knew as Bill - to start running, so she followed suit.
"I've never heard anything like it. I didn't know what it was," the sex worker said.
She recounted hiding in an alcove until the last of the gunshots rang out before running towards Hamze, who was lying face down on the footpath.
"I ran up to Bill and touched his arms and back and I was screaming 'stop' and 'help'," the woman said.
"I didn't know what to do."
She told a court she called triple-zero but was too distraught to speak so she hung up and attended to Hamze, who was making grunting noises.
Hamze sustained gunshot wounds to his abdomen, hip and elbow, later dying in hospital.
His last moments have been laid bare in the NSW Supreme Court trial of the man accused of his murder - rival Alameddine crime network associate Samuel John Rokomaqisa.
The 35-year-old pleaded not guilty to Hamze's murder, as well as conspiring to kill his brother Ibrahem Hamze and assaulting an elderly man during a carjacking.
It is alleged he committed the crimes to demonstrate his loyalty to the Alameddine gang and gain their trust so they would employ him.
But his lawyer claims there is no eyewitness evidence to place the Fijian man inside the black Audi seen to circle the block and pause beside Hamze when the rounds of shots were fired.
The heavily tinted windows impeded a taxi driver's view as the luxury car passed by, but he said he saw one of the windows lower a few centimetres when the car paused in front of him.
"As soon as the car stopped, I saw flashes and heard loud bangs coming from the front passenger window," he recalled in a statement read to the court.
"I believe these were gunshots ... I was scared for my life."
A nearby security guard also noted the tinted windows on the Audi, and said he was only able to see that the driver was wearing a blue surgical mask which covered much of his face.
In a triple zero call, eyewitness Carolyn Howard says that a car has driven by and fired "probably ten shots" at a man who was groaning and bleeding.
"He's not breathing," someone can be heard saying towards the end of the call.
Ms Howard told the jury she had been walking behind Hamze and the sex worker before the drive-by shooting, which she described as terrifying.
"I've never experienced anything like that," she said.
The sex worker received a number of texts and calls from a male friend around the time of Hamze's death, the jury was told.
Rokomaqisa's barrister previously said she had been communicating with a person of interest in the vicinity of the restaurant, who was described as "frantic" in sending messages and making calls at the time of the killing.
The trial continues.
A sex worker has broken down in tears as she recalled screaming for help when a major crime figure was gunned down in front of her, moments after sharing a meal.
When the woman left Kid Kyoto restaurant with Hamze crime family boss Bilal Hamze after dinner on June 17, 2021, she said they were laughing and jovial.
But then she heard a loud bang that prompted Hamze - who she knew as Bill - to start running, so she followed suit.
"I've never heard anything like it. I didn't know what it was," the sex worker said.
She recounted hiding in an alcove until the last of the gunshots rang out before running towards Hamze, who was lying face down on the footpath.
"I ran up to Bill and touched his arms and back and I was screaming 'stop' and 'help'," the woman said.
"I didn't know what to do."
She told a court she called triple-zero but was too distraught to speak so she hung up and attended to Hamze, who was making grunting noises.
Hamze sustained gunshot wounds to his abdomen, hip and elbow, later dying in hospital.
His last moments have been laid bare in the NSW Supreme Court trial of the man accused of his murder - rival Alameddine crime network associate Samuel John Rokomaqisa.
The 35-year-old pleaded not guilty to Hamze's murder, as well as conspiring to kill his brother Ibrahem Hamze and assaulting an elderly man during a carjacking.
It is alleged he committed the crimes to demonstrate his loyalty to the Alameddine gang and gain their trust so they would employ him.
But his lawyer claims there is no eyewitness evidence to place the Fijian man inside the black Audi seen to circle the block and pause beside Hamze when the rounds of shots were fired.
The heavily tinted windows impeded a taxi driver's view as the luxury car passed by, but he said he saw one of the windows lower a few centimetres when the car paused in front of him.
"As soon as the car stopped, I saw flashes and heard loud bangs coming from the front passenger window," he recalled in a statement read to the court.
"I believe these were gunshots ... I was scared for my life."
A nearby security guard also noted the tinted windows on the Audi, and said he was only able to see that the driver was wearing a blue surgical mask which covered much of his face.
In a triple zero call, eyewitness Carolyn Howard says that a car has driven by and fired "probably ten shots" at a man who was groaning and bleeding.
"He's not breathing," someone can be heard saying towards the end of the call.
Ms Howard told the jury she had been walking behind Hamze and the sex worker before the drive-by shooting, which she described as terrifying.
"I've never experienced anything like that," she said.
The sex worker received a number of texts and calls from a male friend around the time of Hamze's death, the jury was told.
Rokomaqisa's barrister previously said she had been communicating with a person of interest in the vicinity of the restaurant, who was described as "frantic" in sending messages and making calls at the time of the killing.
The trial continues.
A sex worker has broken down in tears as she recalled screaming for help when a major crime figure was gunned down in front of her, moments after sharing a meal.
When the woman left Kid Kyoto restaurant with Hamze crime family boss Bilal Hamze after dinner on June 17, 2021, she said they were laughing and jovial.
But then she heard a loud bang that prompted Hamze - who she knew as Bill - to start running, so she followed suit.
"I've never heard anything like it. I didn't know what it was," the sex worker said.
She recounted hiding in an alcove until the last of the gunshots rang out before running towards Hamze, who was lying face down on the footpath.
"I ran up to Bill and touched his arms and back and I was screaming 'stop' and 'help'," the woman said.
"I didn't know what to do."
She told a court she called triple-zero but was too distraught to speak so she hung up and attended to Hamze, who was making grunting noises.
Hamze sustained gunshot wounds to his abdomen, hip and elbow, later dying in hospital.
His last moments have been laid bare in the NSW Supreme Court trial of the man accused of his murder - rival Alameddine crime network associate Samuel John Rokomaqisa.
The 35-year-old pleaded not guilty to Hamze's murder, as well as conspiring to kill his brother Ibrahem Hamze and assaulting an elderly man during a carjacking.
It is alleged he committed the crimes to demonstrate his loyalty to the Alameddine gang and gain their trust so they would employ him.
But his lawyer claims there is no eyewitness evidence to place the Fijian man inside the black Audi seen to circle the block and pause beside Hamze when the rounds of shots were fired.
The heavily tinted windows impeded a taxi driver's view as the luxury car passed by, but he said he saw one of the windows lower a few centimetres when the car paused in front of him.
"As soon as the car stopped, I saw flashes and heard loud bangs coming from the front passenger window," he recalled in a statement read to the court.
"I believe these were gunshots ... I was scared for my life."
A nearby security guard also noted the tinted windows on the Audi, and said he was only able to see that the driver was wearing a blue surgical mask which covered much of his face.
In a triple zero call, eyewitness Carolyn Howard says that a car has driven by and fired "probably ten shots" at a man who was groaning and bleeding.
"He's not breathing," someone can be heard saying towards the end of the call.
Ms Howard told the jury she had been walking behind Hamze and the sex worker before the drive-by shooting, which she described as terrifying.
"I've never experienced anything like that," she said.
The sex worker received a number of texts and calls from a male friend around the time of Hamze's death, the jury was told.
Rokomaqisa's barrister previously said she had been communicating with a person of interest in the vicinity of the restaurant, who was described as "frantic" in sending messages and making calls at the time of the killing.
The trial continues.