Forums Forums National News RIP Chop chop

Mark brandon read passed away yesterday from terminal liver cancer, he was offered a new liver but refused saying "give it to some kid who needs it more than me".

RIP Chopper

Read spent only 13 months outside prison between the ages of 20 and 38, having been convicted of crimes including armed robbery, firearm offences, assault, arson, impersonating a police officer and kidnapping.[4] While in Pentridge Prison's H division in the late 1970s, Read launched a prison war. His gang, dubbed "The Overcoat Gang" because they wore long coats all year round to conceal their weapons, were involved in several hundred acts of violence against a larger opposing gang during this period. Around this time, Read had a fellow inmate cut both of his (Read's) ears off in order to be able to leave H division temporarily. While in his early biographies Read claimed this was to avoid an ambush by other inmates, by being transferred to the mental health wing, his later works state that he did so to "win a bet".[citation needed] The nickname "Chopper" was given to him long before this, from a childhood cartoon character.[citation needed]

Read was ambushed and stabbed by members of his own gang in a sneak attack when they felt that his plan to cripple every other inmate in the entire division and win the gang war in one fell swoop was going too far. Another theory is that James "Jimmy" Loughnan, a longtime friend of Read, with Patrick "Blue" Barnes, wished to benefit from a contract put on Read's head by the Painters' and Dockers' Union. Read lost several feet of intestine in the attack. At the time Read was serving a 16 and a half-year sentence after attacking a judge in an effort to get Loughnan released from prison.[Loughnan would later die in the Jika Jika fire at Pentridge in 1987.

In 1992, Read was convicted of shooting Sydney Michael Edward Collins in the chest. The incident took place in Read's car, which was in the driveway of Collins' residence at Evandale, Tasmania. The bullet was recovered from the backseat of the vehicle, and Collins named Read as the shooter. Pleading not guilty, Read was found guilty of grievous bodily harm, a downgraded charge from attempted murder, and sentenced as a "dangerous criminal" to indefinite detention. He walked free early in 1998. In 2002, Read was again questioned over the disappearance of Sydney Collins, who is still on the Australian Missing Person list after going missing under suspicious circumstances.

Read claimed to be involved in the killing of 19 people and the attempted murder of 11 others. In an April 2013 interview with the New York Times, Read said “Look, honestly, I haven’t killed that many people, probably about four or seven, depending on how you look at it.”


Ste....Surely it should be R.I.P. all the people he murdered

You on drugs Ste :-)

Good riddance, what a piece of shit.

If there is any eternal justice after death , and one would hope so for all those who evade justice in this life, then it wont be one of peace for him.

He only killed criminals and drug dealers.

Keep ya silly comments to yourselves.

Uncle Chop Chop!

Ste.He only killed criminals and drug dealers......Does that make him a decent guy..... and if you don't want people to comment don't bring a subject to the board..wiki master or not

Maybe you should think as to whether your original comment was such that it was bound to invite "silly comment" before you posted it...had you researched the subject you would have found out he was told 18 months ago that a transplant would not benefit him

Organiser, please, you are entitled to your opinion just as much as eveybody else is.

I said silly comments.

Now please listen, we all have our own opinions.

Deal with it

R.I.P Chopper, I am with Ste, glad he killed thugs and smack heads, same way paedos get battered in prison it's part of life.

Many people were upset when the Kray's died, even celebs and they only killed said like people too, if these idiots choose to live that life then some will find life cut short.

Live by the sword, die by the sword hey!!!

dizdazdoz Online content


R.I.P Chopper, I am with Ste, glad he killed thugs and smack heads, same way paedos get battered in prison it's part of life.

Can't get my head around this comment...what do you think he was himself, a good clean upright honest citizen?

He was an out and out thug!!!!!!read up his Wikipedia report

Incidentally paedos usually get beaten up in prison by those who are not paedos so I am afraid there is no qualification here for your remark "Same way"

I'm more confused about why the death of an Australian convict is to do with this country or region

RIP Chopper - what a great guy. Somewhat of a celeb in Oz and for good reason.

RIP Chopper - what a great guy. Somewhat of a celeb in Oz and for good reason

Has this forum gone mad?....please explain the "What a great guy" and "for good reason" bit

Will your next post be lauding The Yorkshire Ripper, Myra Hindley or some other scumbag?

I'm with Ste, he merely removed many scumbags from this world

R.I.P