Some people were also robbed.Ī coroner had ruled in 1989 that the openly gay man had taken his own life, while a second coroner in 2012 could not explain how he died. The coroner also found that gangs of men roamed various Sydney locations in search of gay men to assault, resulting in the deaths of some victims.
White said in the interview he lied when he had earlier told police that he had tried to grab Johnson and prevent his fatal fall.Ī coroner ruled in 2017 that Johnson “fell from the clifftop as a result of actual or threatened violence by unidentified persons who attacked him because they perceived him to be homosexual.” He went over the edge,” White said in recorded police interview in 2020 that was played in court. He faces a potential sentence of life in prison. White will be sentenced by Justice Helen Wilson on Tuesday. Scott White, 51, appeared in the New South Wales state Supreme Court for a sentencing hearing after he pleaded guilty in January to the murder of the Los Angeles-born Canberra resident, whose death at the base of a North Head cliff was initially dismissed by police as suicide.
While I got an actor to play the boyfriend, I had to play the victim’s character in the movie myself,’’ said Laishram, who has also written, produced and directed the film.A man told police he killed American mathematician Scott Johnson in 1988 by pushing the 27-year-old off a Sydney cliff in what prosecutors describe as a gay hate crime, a court heard on Monday. Every actor said no because it was the role of a gay man. “I spent eight months just looking for an actor to play the lead role. Laishram says it was “exceedingly’’ difficult. Whether it is a rock or classical or pop music video, the women have to mandatorily wear phaneks (Manipuri traditional clothing), and no other clothing is permitted,’’ said Meena Longjam who won a national award for her film “Autodriver’’ in 2015. “It’s not just films, but even music videos. Restrictions were imposed on Manipuri cinema: lead characters would have to wear traditional clothing, storylines would have to be traditional, and dream sequences and fantasies were banned. In 2002, Meitei-centric valley groups banned Hindi movies in the state. Manipuri cinema is circumscribed by diktats of insurgent groups that act as moral police. “I received threatening calls from four different insurgent groups,’’ he said. In 2018, the independent filmmaker released a short film on male sexuality and child sexual abuse. This was not the first time that Laishram has received threats for his work. Martin is not a name that is commonly used,’’ he says. “I changed the name of the character, and chose Martin as his surname…very carefully, after research, so as to not hurt the sentiments of any community. When Laishram first announced the movie, he says he received threats from the community to which the victim belonged. “In any case, in tribal areas, it is tribal law that holds prevalence, so there is little that the police can do in such situations,’’ Laishram said. A case was never registered and it was deemed a suicide,” he said. That night, after the victim had come home, the brother mixed bleaching powder and ammonia in his milk. “The victim’s older brother, who was keeping a close watch, followed him to a rendezvous. Laishram says the victim kept a detailed account of what had happened in a journal, which forms the basis of the film.Īccording to Laishram, the two lovers got in touch with each other after several months. The victim’s cousin told Laishram that the boy was subjected to exorcisms and submerged in water in an attempt to re-baptise him. According to Laishram, the two boys were subjected to conversion therapy by their families.