Man offered $5,000 for leg amputation, court hears

A man who died shortly after arranging to have his leg amputated in a public park had been shopping around for someone to "help him take his pain away", a court has heard.

Innisfail pensioner Kalman Tal, 66, allegedly paid farm worker John Yalu $5,000 in cash to amputate his lower left leg using a circular saw.

Mr Tal died from blood loss about half an hour after the alleged amputation at the Innisfail riverfront in the early hours of February 19, 2022.

Mr Yalu, 41, has pleaded not guilty to murder but his trial at the Supreme Court in Cairns has heard he accepted that he caused Mr Tal's death and told police about the arranged amputation after his arrest.

However, Mr Yalu was not the first person Mr Tal had asked to cut off his leg, the court heard.

A witness, Scott Torrens, told the court Mr Tal approached him and two other men one morning at the Innisfail waterfront in December 2021, and asked whether anyone was "interested in earning $5,000".

The court heard Mr Tal sat beside Mr Torrens and said his leg was "killing" him, giving him trouble walking and standing.

"I want it off. Would you be able to cut my leg off," the court heard Mr Tal asked Mr Torrens.

Mr Tal showed Mr Torrens his pension card with his home address and said he wanted the amputation done there, the court heard.

Mr Torrens took a photo of the card and told Mr Tal he needed "some time to think about it".

Mr Torrens told Mr Tal he would need "someone to hold the leg still while it gets cut" and that Mr Tal was "willing to bring another $500 for a person to hold him down".

Mr Tal told Mr Torrens the amputation needed to be done "around three or four o'clock in the morning", the court heard, because "everyone [was] asleep at that time and no one is around".

The pair spoke on the phone several times after their initial meeting.

"Very persistent, he was," Mr Torrens told the court.

"On the last phone call, you said to him, 'Mate, I'm not going to do it, find someone else.' Is that correct?" Mr Yalu's defence counsel Jacob Kantor asked.

"Yes," Mr Torrens replied.

After the final phone call just before Christmas 2021, Mr Torrens blocked Mr Tal's number, the court heard.

Man told he 'needed help'

Lucas Henriques Reboucas De Oliveira, a seasonal worker coordinator, came across an older man talking to some workers, offering to "pay cash" to cut his leg off in January 2022.

The man pointed at his ankle and asked for "someone to help him take the pain away", the court heard.

"Because he was so insistent and kept asking, you asked him to leave you alone, is that correct?" Mr Kantor asked.

"Yes," Mr De Oliveira replied.

About a week later, the same man turned up at a seasonal work office, again offering to pay for an amputation, the court heard.

Ahna Kaihe, another work coordinator, told Mr Tal that he could not "go around asking people weird questions like that".

The court heard the man "remained persistent" even after Ms Kaihe told him he needed help and should go to the hospital.

"It was only when you told him you would call the police that he left, is that right?" Mr Kantor asked.

"Yes," Ms Kaihe said.

No alcohol in deceased's blood

The court heard Mr Yalu told a group of fellow banana pickers about Mr Tal's $5,000 proposal about two weeks before the amputation.

Patrick Hamos, a farm worker from Vanuatu who had known Mr Yalu since 2017, gave evidence via a Bislama interpreter about the conversation.

The court heard that after Mr Hamos and the workers said that, Mr Yalu "just laughed and left".

Under cross-examination from Mr Kantor, Mr Hamos agreed Mr Yalu was a helpful man who had a good reputation among the workers.

"Sometimes, even if he says something serious, he laughs after he says it, isn't that right?" Mr Kantor asked.

The forensic pathologist who examined Mr Tal's body told the court the pensioner died from blood loss and suffered from underlying heart disease that may have hastened his death.

Mr Tal's heart was enlarged for his body size and one of his arteries had "significant" narrowing, Paull Botterill said.

Dr Botterill found no alcohol in Mr Tal's blood or body fluid.

The trial, before Justice James Henry, continues.