A woman stabbed in Melbourne's CBD is making a physical recovery from the incident, but is still struggling with the emotional aftermath, her family says.
Wan Lai, 36, was walking near the intersection of Little Bourke and Spencer streets when she was stabbed on the morning of October 2.
The incident gained media and political attention this week after video of the daylight attack emerged.
In the video, a person runs up to Ms Lai from behind and appears to briefly gets her attention before stabbing her in the front of her body and running away.
Ms Lai is then seen sitting on the ground before another person rushes to her aid.
Police have charged 32-year-old Lauren Darul with intentionally causing injury, recklessly causing injury and committing an indictable offence while on bail over the incident.
Speaking to the ABC, Ms Lai's brother-in-law Chia Ting said despite her strong physical recovery, the 36 year old was still wary of going out in public by herself.
"She's still very scared when she's in public," he said.
"When she sees a stranger go past her, she'll be like 'oh, I need to stay away from [them]'."
Alleged attacker to face court
It was confirmed on Friday that the accused was a resident of Make Room, an initiative providing supported housing for people experiencing rough sleeping or homelessness.
Mr Ting said his family was "shocked" when they first got the call about the incident and that while they were not opposed to the community housing initiative, had questions about how people were selected to receive the service.
"For us it just feels … unsafe, and then finally, eventually something unfortunately happened and … it happened to my family," he said.
A Make Room spokesperson on Friday said they were "deeply saddened" by the incident and that the organisation was working closely with Victoria Police.
"We understand that recent events have caused distress and that people in the community may have questions about safety and crime in the area," the spokesperson said.
Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece defended safety in the city, while acknowledging a rise in crime across Victoria.
Ms Darul faced court on October 3 and was remanded in custody.
The ABC has confirmed she intends to apply for bail at a Melbourne Magistrates' Court hearing on Tuesday.
Mr Ting said the days since the video had emerged had been "quite intense" for Ms Lai.
"There's so much happening in [the last] couple of days," he said, adding a random attack "could happen to anyone".
Opposition responds to Crisafulli comments
Late on Friday Queensland Premier David Crisafulli apologised for comments he made about Melbourne crime.
Fronting a Newscorp panel on future opportunities for Brisbane ahead of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the LNP premier was asked how his government planned to attract interstate business.
"I'll tell you another thing I can offer. If they live in Melbourne, they've got a place that's dealing with youth crime, and they won't get stabbed. That's a good start."
He later released a statement apologising for the comment, calling it a "poor choice of words".
"Every victim matters, regardless of where they live, and I apologise for any distress," Mr Crisafulli said.
Speaking in Melbourne on Saturday, Liberal opposition MP Richard Riordan said he was "devastated" safety in Victoria had become a "joke" for the rest of the country, but said he believed it was a "shared view across all Victorians and all Australians".
"It's disappointing to think that Victorians are getting a reputation that it's no longer safe to just walk in some of our most famous and iconic laneways and streets in the heart of our CBD," he said.
Statistics released in September showed crime in the state had soared to its highest levels on record, driven by a spike in thefts.
In the year to June 30, 2025, Victoria recorded 483,583 criminal incidents, an increase of 18.3 per cent from the year before. The crime rate also increased by 16.3 per cent to 6,814 criminal incidents per 100,000 of estimated population.
On Friday, Premier Jacinta Allen described the incident involving Ms Lai as "absolutely sickening".
The state's new Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush has unveiled a proposed restructure to Victoria Police, which would see more officers freed up from desk duties to be deployed on the street.
