Updated ,first published
A former contestant on My Kitchen Rules who was accused of a range of offences, including dragging a complainant down a hallway and choking her, has been found not guilty.
Anthony Mu, who appeared on the cooking show on Channel 7, was facing several charges, including assault occasioning bodily harm and common assault.
The charges were historical and related to children.
On Wednesday in the Brisbane Magistrates Court, Mu was found not guilty on all charges.
In handing down his decision, Magistrate Michael Quinn found there were several differences in the versions of events that were presented by complainants and witnesses before the court.
Quinn said in parts of the claims, some of the evidence seriously undermined the credibility and reliability of the complainants.
In one of the charges, Mu was accused of assaulting a complainant at a concert. Quinn said one witness disputed the claim, and also gave evidence that she saw the complainant in a drunken state, and had fallen.
“At the time [she says] she was assaulted or threatened by [Mu], she was, in fact, so adversely affected by alcohol that I could not be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt on her evidence and her recollections many years later as to what occurred,” Quinn said.
In one of the alleged incidents, a complainant claimed she was thrown into a wall. Quinn said he found there to be significant differences in her version of events, and the evidence a witness gave.
He said the differences were to such an extent that neither version could be accepted beyond a reasonable doubt.
Quinn said he would have expected the complainant to have significant injuries if the incident had occurred.
In another alleged incident, a complainant claimed she was dragged down a hallway and choked against a wall by Mu putting his right hand around her neck. Quinn said the complainant said she could not feel her legs whilst being choked, and that she did not recall much after that.
“I’m satisfied from that description that [the woman] may be describing unconsciousness. [The woman] describes injuries, tenderness, and some bruising around the back of her neck.
“No medical evidence was called … no photographs of injury were tendered.
“[The woman noted bruises on the back of her neck. I’m satisfied if [Mu] choked [the woman] for 30 seconds to one minute in the way alleged, then it might … be expected that bruising and finger mark bruising would also be visible at the front of the neck and on the sides of the neck … but that was not alleged [by the woman].
“I’m satisfied on her evidence describing the choking as she did in evidence [the woman] is indeed lucky to be alive if her evidence to be accepted”.
Quinn said however he could not be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt of the truthfulness of the evidence regarding that allegation.
He found another woman, who was originally a complainant, before she retracted her police statement, to be a credible witness.
Quinn said “considerable attention” had been given to Mu and Uamaki-Mu’s appearance on MKR. However, Quinn said it was of little relevance, and had “played very little part in my decision here today”.
“After considering all of the evidence I cannot be satisfied the prosecution has proven each and every element of any charges against [Mu] beyond reasonable doubt.
“Accordingly, I find [Mu] not guilty of each of the charges against him.”
Outside court, Mu, supported by family, declined to answer questions from Nine News.
One witness told a local Brisbane court last year that they saw Mu throw one of the complainants into a wall, with her back hitting bricks behind plasterboard.
Mu’s barrister, Steve Kissick, put to the witness that they were making up stories, which the witness denied.
In other claimed incidents, Mu was accused of kicking a complainant in the stomach, before pushing her down the stairs.
A co-worker later took photos of her bruises, but the complainant never formally reported the incidents because she was fearful for her life, the court previously heard.
Mu was charged alongside his partner, Claudean Uamaki-Mu, after they appeared together on My Kitchen Rules in 2023.
The pair were promoted by the Channel 7 network during the show as a “fiery Italian and a super-chill Samoan with hearts of gold”.
The pair’s identity was under a suppression order in the earlier stages of the case. Several of the ir charges were thrown out due to insufficient evidence.
