An offshore worker who mistook a restaurateur for a taxi driver after a night out – and broke the man’s nose when he was refused a lift – appeared at Elgin Sheriff Court yesterday.
The court heard 24-year-old Ricky Clark spotted Halal Khan getting into his car in Buckie’s Cluny Square around 1am on Sunday, March 22.
Thinking Mr Khan was a taxi driver, Clark asked for a lift home and when his request was refused, he dragged the tandoori owner from the vehicle and repeatedly punched and kicked him to the head.
Sheriff David Hall ordered Clark to pay his victim £500 in compensation for the assault, and sentenced him to 100 hours of community service.
Fiscal depute Kevin Corrins said: “Clark knocked on Mr Khan’s window and asked to be taken to Portessie.
“When Mr Khan refused, the accused briefly turned his anger towards the car, before pulling him from the vehicle and punching him.
“At that point the situation became more of a fight, with both throwing punches, and when witnesses intervened both men were bleeding from the face.”
The court heard Mr Khan, who owns the Bengal Brasserie in Buckie’s Cluny Square, was taken by ambulance to Dr Gray’s hospital in Elgin.
He was found to have temporary loss of hearing in one ear, a broken nose and swelling to his face.
Representing the accused, solicitor Brent Lockey said: “Mr Clark plays for a local amateur football side and the incident followed a night out with his teammates.
“He has little recollection of what happened, but when he found out he visited Mr Khan and apologised profusely.
“He thought Mr Khan was a taxi driver as he saw him parked in the square.
“As a hard-working family man with a young child, he is thoroughly ashamed and embarrassed. Since the incident he has abstained from alcohol.”
Clark, of 53 Bryson Crescent in the Portessie area of Buckie, was ordered to perform 100 hours of community service in the next six months and to pay £500 compensation in monthly installments of £100.
