An individual accused of a random stabbing incident, targeting a woman on her way to work, remains behind bars as her plea for release is denied.

Lauren Darul, facing charges of reckless and intentional injury, along with an additional charge for committing a crime while on bail, allegedly attacked Wan Lai in central Melbourne.

Deputy Chief Magistrate Timothy Bourke rejected Darul’s bail request, highlighting her pattern of non-compliance with previous legal requirements.

“She has a history of being elusive and difficult to engage,” Bourke stated.

The magistrate noted that Darul has previously had 16 arrest warrants issued against her for failing to adhere to bail conditions.

The accused had nine prior guilty findings of failing to appear on bail since 2022 and eight findings of guilt for committing an indictable offence while on bail.

“The offending is serious and a lot of the evidence before me, the applicant’s prior convictions will carry a jail term if convicted,” Bourke said.

Lai had been walking on a footpath about 7.35am on October 2 when Darul allegedly ran up from behind and stabbed her in the upper body, Constable Damian Elliott told the court yesterday.

Emergency services arrived to find a distressed Lai, who was taken to hospital with a punctured right lung and bleeding around the lung.

Darul, 32, was arrested 90 minutes later after officers tracked her down at her housing provider Unison, where she revealed a 10cm silver kitchen knife allegedly used in the attack.

Lai has been discharged and was getting better, but has relocated due to the ongoing psychological trauma she experiences from living near where she was allegedly stabbed.

The court was told that Unison had issued the accused with an eviction notice if she was granted bail, citing the risk of danger to community, other tenants and staff.

The crown prosecutor had opposed bail, citing an unacceptable risk to the community if she was released and her history of alleged bail breaches.

Darul’s lawyer argued that she had a range of services on hand to support her if she is released on bail to a hospital in-patient facility, which she said could ameliorate the risk of reoffending.

Darul will return to the court on January 20.