A farm worker has been sentenced to nine years in prison for the manslaughter of a Queensland grandfather whose leg he amputated with a circular saw. John Yalu, 41, was found guilty on Friday of the lesser charge of manslaughter, after a jury acquitted him of murder. The incident occurred in February 2022 in Innisfail, Far North Queensland.
The Supreme Court trial in Cairns heard that the victim, Kalman Tal, 66, had spent years asking people to amputate his leg due to chronic pain from a workplace injury. Doctors had refused his requests. Yalu agreed to perform the amputation for a $5,000 fee, believing he was helping relieve Tal's suffering.
Tal brought a battery-powered circular saw to a park, where Yalu severed his lower left leg above the ankle. The procedure took about three minutes. Attempts to stop the bleeding using sticky tape and plastic shopping bags as makeshift tourniquets failed. Tal drove away and contacted emergency services but died from blood loss.
During sentencing on Monday, Yalu broke down in tears, apologizing to Tal's family through an interpreter. He said, 'I wanted to help him, but he died from what I did. I was trying to help him.' The court confirmed Yalu will be deported to Vanuatu upon his release. He will be eligible for parole in August, having already served over four years in custody.
Victim impact statements revealed the trauma suffered by Tal's family. His brother, John Janos Tal, expressed disbelief that 'something so gruesome happened to such a gentle man.' The family noted Tal had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had stopped taking his medication when he began seeking amputation. They also suggested he may have suffered from body integrity dysphoria, though this was not formally diagnosed.
