A WOMAN struck a Ballarat heart surgeon with a glass because she thought he and his partner were making fun of her, a court heard yesterday.
Dr Hemant Chaudhary suffered cuts and intense pain after Stephanie Angela Dyer, 32, smashed a beer pot over his forehead at Gee-Cees Cafe Bar in Ballarat.
Dyer, of John St, Horsham, pleaded guilty at the Ballarat County Court to one count of recklessly causing serious injury.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years' jail and relates to an incident on March 28, 2004.
Crown Prosecutor David Cordy said the woman told Dr Chaudhary he "didn't belong in Australia" after she accused him and his partner of looking at her and talking about her group of friends.
Mr Cordy said, after further words were exchanged, Dyer slapped Dr Chaudhary in the face.
He said Dr Chaudhary then pushed the defendant away, making contact with her face.
The court heard Dyer subsequently hit the victim with the beer glass and quickly left the premises with her mother.
Mr Cordy said, during interview, the defendant told police the incident happened so quickly she did not realise the glass was in her hand.
Defence lawyer Justin Wheelahan said his client suffered from anxiety, and "flew off the handle" during the verbal altercation with the victim.
"He was big-noting himself about being a heart surgeon and making misogynistic comments about women," Mr Wheelahan said.
Mr Wheelahan also said Dyer's offending occurred "within the context of a very troubling time for her".
"She was in a maelstrom of difficulties," he said.
The court heard Dyer attempted suicide two days before the incident, but was not seeking to use her troubles as an excuse.
Mr Wheelahan said he was just trying to paint a picture of her circumstances.
Judge Tony Duckett ordered Dyer undergo a psychological assessment and adjourned the hearing to May 9.