No jail for fatal dementia patient punch

A 70-year-old Melbourne man has been ordered to undergo anger management as part of his punishment for punching a nursing home resident with dementia, who later died.

David Rose, 70, of Jacana, pleaded guilty to one count of intentionally causing serious injury after he flew into a rage when an 87-year-old man tried to take his walking frame.

Rose was living at an aged care facility in Avondale Heights in 2013 when the man came into his room just before 5am on September 28.

The victim, whom his family previously requested not to be identified, was known to wander the corridors.

Rose told police he was in bed and felt the man put his hands on his chest and then in his mouth.

He told the old man to get out, or he would kill him.

The victim said it was his room, then grabbed Rose's walking frame.

"I just flew out of bed and in a rage I pulled him towards me and pushed him against the door," Rose told police.

Rose suffers from chronic back pain as a result of a workplace injury.

CCTV cameras at the nursing home captured the victim falling back into the corridor.

Later that night, the patient came into Rose's room again.

Rose said: "Get out of my room you wog bastard."

"You crazy, you bastard," the victim replied and said that it was his room.

The older man then put his hands on Rose's face and started scratching.

"He grabbed the walker, that's when I lost it," Rose told police.

He pushed and punched the man, who was later found with a cut to his forehead, a swollen jaw and a bleeding mouth.

He died on October 26.

The autopsy found cause of death was complications of a head injury in a setting of dementia.

In the Victorian Supreme Court on Thursday, Justice Christopher Beale said Rose's health would be put at risk in jail.

"He clearly does have mental impairments and the medical evidence is clear that were he to be incarcerated, his mental and physical health are likely to be severely affected," Justice Beale said.

He ordered Rose to serve a five-year community corrections order and undertake anger management counselling.