A FIREFIGHTER whose career was put in jeopardy when he slapped an 11-year-old boy for throwing skittles in a Gold Coast cinema has been fined $1200. Blake Murray Abbott, 44, pleaded guilty in Brisbane Magistrates Court to common assault after he "lost his temper" and hit the boy across the stomach as the credits rolled at the Nerang Cineplex on June 27. The slap left a mark but caused no pain. Abbott, however, still faces ongoing disciplinary action and was suspended from his role as a firefighter with the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service at Logan while the case was pending, allegedly for bringing the organisation into disrepute. The unusual circumstances of the incident left Magistrate John Costello wondering where the victim boy's parents were and why they had not intervened before a member of the public did. "Where was the discipline?" he said. If a parent goes with their children to the cinema and a patron is struck in the head with lollies, is that something that is acceptable? Prosecutor Sgt Peter Treloar said Abbott was at the lunchtime screening of the Superman film to celebrate his daughter's 16th birthday in the company of his wife, two children and a family friend. He said the victim child was at the same session and was seated behind Abbott with his nine-year-old step-sister. The child's father, step-mother and an older step-sibling was in the same row but seated across the aisle from the younger pair. "It was fairly well agreed upon that they were playing up a bit and they were throwing lollies, laughing and giggling," Sgt Treloar said. It appears the defendant has just lost his temper, lost control and has gone up and struck the victim child in the stomach. Sgt Treloar said Abbott approached the victim child at the end of the film holding a skittle lolly and said "here's your f***ing lolly back" before slapping the boy with an open right hand across the stomach area. The slap was allegedly overheard by other patrons in the theatre and left the child with "raised redness" to the stomach area. Sgt Treloar said a witness told police they heard the boy sobbing after his run-in with Abbott but the child told police he wasn't in pain and no medical treatment was sought. He said the assault was serious because Abbott was a big, imposing man and the child was small and skinny. Sgt Treloar tendered some criminal history on Abbott's behalf, including an assault offence dating back more than 10 years. "He had every right to be certainly upset and annoyed at the behaviour, but he well and truly lost his temper," he said. He said the child's family were seeking $500 compensation. Defence lawyer Bill Potts tendered numerous positive character references on Abbott's behalf and said he would lose his job if a conviction was recorded. He said that not only were the children throwing skittles, which are small and hard, in a "packed" cinema during the film's second half, they were also playing mobile phone ring tones throughout the session. "As the film builds to its climax, those children would play those ring tones, throw skittles and hit people in the head and all the time their parents were sitting behind the defendant," he said. My client lost his temper and he should not have done that. Mr Potts said Abbott had served the community as a fire fighter since 2008 and before that served as an Army peacekeeper overseas. He said Abbott had battled depression and had ongoing psychological support as a result of his time on the frontline. He said Abbott had co-operated with police in their investigation, even as the father "threatened to rip his head off" after the incident. He said no charges were laid until a front page news article appeared in the Gold Coast Bulletin and he was contacted by police. Mr Potts said Abbott had already endured public shaming in the media, had been suspended from his job and been dragged to court, despite trying at every turn to apologise and have the assault charge dealt with through a process of mediation. "Whatever happened that day, a good man broke," he said. Children being children can behave impulsively, dangerously and stupidly but where were the parents and why were they not disciplining their children? Why does an entire theatre have to put up with children being nuisances? Mr Costello said the incident was an aberration and behaviour that was totally out of character for the defendant. He said there was a nexus between Abbott's emotional state and his actions that day. Mr Costello said while Abbott had borne the brunt of significant media scrutiny, there had been noticeable absence for the lack of discipline by the child's parents.