SA minister reveals second assault
South Australian Police Minister Kevin Foley says he won't be quitting politics after being assaulted for the second time in less than six months.
Mr Foley on Monday said he was grabbed by the jaw and thrown against a toilet wall in an Adelaide restaurant on Saturday night.
The assault comes after the then treasurer was king-hit outside an Adelaide nightclub last November.
"It is becoming really, really hard to do this job and be subjected to that type of attack," he told reporters.
"People either hate Kevin Foley or they love me. There's not much in between."
Mr Foley said it had become difficult for him to do his job and lead a normal life.
"(But) I'm not thinking about quitting," he said.
"I cop a fair bit of abuse when I'm out ... S***, I've got to have a life."
Saturday's fracas came after Mr Foley was verbally abused and threatened by a man in the restaurant, he said.
The minister thought the threat had passed but he was later confronted in the restaurant toilet by three men.
"I was verbally abused by one of those gentlemen," Mr Foley said.
"I simply inquired what the problem was.
"Before I knew it, a gentleman burst through the doors and grabbed me by the jaw and pushed me up against the wall.
"He was pulled away by his two colleagues.
"I felt extremely threatened and scared, particularly given what had happened to me only a few months ago."
Mr Foley filed a police incident report and members of the State Protective Security Branch (SPSB) were investigating, standard procedure for an incident involving an MP.
That investigation is expected to review Mr Foley's security arrangements.
Protective officers often accompany Premier Mike Rann in public after he was attacked by a man with a rolled up magazine at a business function in October, 2009.
Mr Foley said his attackers had fled the venue by the time police arrived on Saturday.
In November last year, Mr Foley sustained facial injuries when he was hit outside a nightclub in the CBD in the early hours of the morning.
Ante Tony Grgich, 29, of the Adelaide suburb of Rosewater, has been charged with assault, with his case currently before the Adelaide Magistrates Court.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8232682/sa-minister-reveals-second-assault