A man who was caught carrying a knife in a handbag while dressed as a woman has been ordered to behave.
Musa Deria was dressed in drag when he was spotted holding the kitchen knife outside a shop on Aberdeen’s Hutcheon Street.
When he appeared in court last month and admitted being in possession of the blade, he was warned he faced jail.
But yesterday, after background reports were prepared on him, the repeat offender was given three months to prove he has changed his life around and won’t re-offend.
The court previously heard Deria was spotted by members of the public clutching the kitchen knife on July 9 last year.
Fiscal depute Anne MacDonald said he had been carrying it around with him in a hand bag as he was dressed “head to toe” in women’s clothing.
She said one shop worker had been alerted to Deria after hearing a “girl”, who was close to him, saying “keep that knife away from me”.
She said staff at the store then called the police.
The court heard Deria then went into the shop – still holding the knife – where he told them that they should not have phoned the emergency services.
Miss MacDonald said he then left the store, leaving a member of staff “worried about what would happen”.
When police officers arrived, at around 2.40am, they approached Deria and spotted him throwing the knife away.
Officers then arrested the cross-dresser on the nearby Fraser Road, and took him to the Kittybrewster police office.
Representing the repeat offender, solicitor Liam McAllister said his client accepted there was “no excuse” for his actions, and said he could not justify carrying the blade.
However, he said his client had been approached by men whilst wearing women’s clothes and he felt he should take a knife with him in his handbag “for protection”.
Mr McAllister said his client had also struggled with mental health issues and drug abuse in the past.
The court heard that since the offence, Deria had been on a curfew which forbid him from leaving his home at night. Mr McAllister said that he had also been cooperating with his social worker and felt his life was in a far better place.
Sheriff Graham Buchanan said he was not prepared to send him to jail and “waste” all of the progress he had made on turning his life around.
Sentence was deferred until May in order for him to be of good behaviour.