An Irish man, who was fined in court for causing more than €300,000 worth of flood damage to an Australian hotel, has been found dead.
The circumstances surrounding the death of Padraig Gaffney (29) were unconfirmed last night, but the Australian-based Irish Echo reported that the man, who was originally from Lanesborough, Co Longford, died on Wednesday – the day after he faced court in Melbourne.
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs also confirmed they were aware of the death of a young man and were offering consular assistance to his family.
Mr Gaffney, the youngest of six children, had pleaded guilty to criminal damage in court on Tuesday and was fined more than €6,700 (A$10,000) over an incident in April last year when he turned on a fire hydrant in a hotel and flooded the building. The flooding at the Fraser Place Hotel in Melbourne caused an estimated €335,350 worth of damage.
The court head that Mr Gaffney, a construction worker, was heavily intoxicated at the time, but chief judge Michael Rozenes accepted he had no malicious intent to cause damage and said it was a stupid act that he would never have considered had he been sober. After his conviction, Mr Gaffney said: "The entire thing has ruined my life completely. I've spent 10 years in Australia trying to better myself and in the space of one night everything can be taken away from you."