A retired social worker has been fined after attacking hospital staff – brandishing a chair and even striking one nurse in the face with a knife.
Angus Murray was admitted to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary after taking a tumble at home but soon turned violent towards medical staff.
But his solicitor, Alex Burn, was quick to emphasise his client was “certainly no knife-wielding maniac”, and that the blade had been a butter knife.
Murray, of Brighton Court, Peterculter, previously pled guilty to possession of a knife and two charges under the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005 of assaulting a nurse and a healthcare support worker to their injury.
Sentence had been deferred for him to be of good behaviour and he has now returned to the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court to learn his fate.
The court heard the 66-year-old had indeed been of good behaviour.
Sheriff Morag McLaughlin told him: “I fully accept the mitigation given on your behalf previously.
‘These were just members of staff going about their duties’
“This is a completely isolated incident and there was no suggestion of you being, as Mr Burn put it, a knife-wielding maniac.
“The knife in question was a butter knife.
“I’m going to impose a modest fine.”
She fined him £320.
During a previous hearing, fiscal depute Tom Procter told Aberdeen Sheriff Court Murray was admitted to hospital on January 14 last year.
At 5.30pm on February 4 2022, a nurse was at the nursing station when Murray approached her.
Mr Procter said: “She noticed he had a dinner knife concealed within the sleeve of his jumper.
“When challenged about this, he removed the knife and swung it at the complainer’s head, causing a slight cut to her lip.”
Security staff then attended and the situation was de-escalated.
Murray calmed down and so was allowed to stay in the hospital.
Mr Procter said: “However, at 10am, a healthcare support worker was standing outside the accused’s room when he started acting in an agitated manner.
“He left his room, entered the corridor and took hold of a red plastic chair.
“He was instructed to put down the chair, which he did.
‘Extremely upset’
“At that point, however, he then began to flail his arms and stepped closer to the complainer, punching her to the head, resulting in a slight injury to her eye.”
Security were again called and the matters were reported to the police.
At that hearing, Mr Burn said: “He took a tumble in his home address and was admitted to ARI.
“He has no recollection of these incidents. These were just members of staff going about their duties.
“He clearly was in a confused and agitated state.
“This is not something he would ordinarily do.”
Mr Burn said the fall injury contributed to the offences, adding that Murray, a first-offender, was “extremely upset” and apologetic when he learned what he’d done.
He went on: “He’s certainly no knife-wielding maniac.
“The knife he had was simply a cutlery knife which he had access to when admitted to the ward.”
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