A teenage student of Lebanese descent had developed a phobia towards young males of Asian backgrounds after he was brutally assaulted by a group of Vietnamese youths, a Sydney court has heard.

The attack on the former Birrong Boys High School student, who is now aged 26, occurred when he was a year 11 student at the south-western school on February 26, 1998.

The man, whose name was suppressed in the District Court today by Judge Len Levy, is suing the NSW Department of Education for breach of duty of care.

He said that his post-traumatic stress disorder was so serious that he felt imprisoned in Dubai - a place where he moved to for work four years ago - because of the stress he would have experienced if exposed to groups of Asian males in Australia. The man, whose family still lived in Australia, said he encountered few Asian males in Dubai.

The man's lawyer, Tom Hughes, told the court today that there was racial tension at Birrong Boys High School, which had deeply entrenched racial divisions. He said the school's grounds at recess had areas where students of Lebanese, Asian, European and Tongan descent congregated.

The court today heard about a scuffle the man had been involved in with a fellow Vietnamese student in 1998.

The incident, which, according to Mr Hughes, arose from a misunderstanding, developed into a scuffle which was broken up by two teachers.

Mr Hughes said the student had then gone into a class and the Asian student with whom he had scuffled stood at the door and said loudly: "You're dead, you're dead."

The Vietnamese student then left the school and rang a former student and both returned to the school with two other young Vietnamese youths.

The court heard that, when the bell for morning recess rang, the Lebanese student went to sit on an aluminium bench near the teachers' staffroom.

He had heard some fellow students say in Arabic, "Here come the rice," which he understood to refer to Asians.

He then saw the group of four Vietnamese youths approach him and, although there was a teacher on duty about 30 metres away, the four youths bashed him brutally, knocked him to the ground, kicked him and stabbed him.

When the teacher intervened, the court heard, the Vietnamese youths went away and the young man was taken to the school's sick bay room before he was taken to Bankstown Hospital by ambulance. He was treated at the hospital for a collapsed left lung, puncture wounds and abrasions.

The young man said in evidence that he learnt that, during the two days he was in hospital, two young men who were aggressive had tried to get to his room but were prevented by hospital staff. It was not clear who these young men were.

The man said that he spent eight days at home, then returned to school, where he was warned by fellow students that "the Asians were coming to finish the job".

The court heard that he went to complain to the principal, John Lucas. He saw outside the principal's window a group of Asian males gathering at the entrance to the railway station opposite the school.

Mr Lucas called the young man's mother who was unable to come to the school, so he drove the young man home himself.

The student never returned to the school again.

Mr Hughes said that the young man, who had completed his schooling elsewhere, had suffered enormous stress and had required psychiatric treatment and, even 10 years later, the stress was entrenched.

Allen Parker, counsel for the Department of Education, said that the department admitted it had a duty of care but did not concede that it had breached that duty.

The court heard that there had been prosecutions of the perpetrators of the assault.

The trial continues.

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