Magistrate jokes about her 'tough sentencing'

A Queensland magistrate has joked in court about the severity of her sentencing after a public backlash at her decision to allow a man who king-hit an unsuspecting bar patron to walk free.
Magistrate Callaghan sentenced law clerk Virgil Macquarie Power, 29, to 240 hours of community service after he pleaded guilty to punching his victim at a steak house in Noosa Heads, Queensland, last September. 
The single punch, which took Mr Power's 23-year-old victim by surprise, caused $24,000 in damage to the man's face and teeth.
Yesterday, after giving her first judgment of the day on a drugs matter, the magistrate smirked as she asked "Is that tough enough?"
"I think I've been tough enough," she said.
Magistrate Callaghan faced strong criticism for failing to impose any jail time or even record a conviction against Mr Power.
In her March 10 ruling, the magistrate accepted that Mr Power had punched the victim because he was "in fear of the complainant" and because his own experiences as an assault victim made him nervous. 
Queensland Police Minister Jack Dempsey said this type of sentencing "simply beggars belief".
"I feel most members of the Queensland community feel as though another decision would’ve been a lot better outcome in this particular matter," he said.
Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie said he was also troubled by the sentence.
"But what concerns me more is that the particular judicial officer was saying these 'coward punches' are simply a figment of imagination of editors or journalists," he said.
"I come from the Sunshine Coast and we’ve had two gentlemen die of coward punches in the last little while. It’s no figment of anyone’s imagination. This is real, it is happening."
Police prosecutors are expected to appeal the sentence based on possible legal errors made by the magistrate.