An Aberdeen man who tracked down and repeatedly attacked his dentist because he was unhappy with his teeth has avoided going to prison.
Iqbal Hussain, 44, assaulted the man on two separate occasions after becoming upset over the quality of treatment he got, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
The 44-year-old first punched the dentist as he ate a sandwich at Pret a Manger and then struck again almost two months later on Union Street.
Fiscal depute Peter Finnon told the court that at around 1pm on November 10 2022, the dentist was having lunch with a colleague at the coffee shop when Hussain entered.
He walked over and immediately began berating the dentist about the quality of treatment he had received.
The dentist and his colleague told Hussain they didn’t want to speak to him and asked him to leave the cafe.
Hussain then punched the dentist on the left-hand side of his face and walked out.
Police were contacted and Hussain was arrested.
Second attack within months
At around 1.15pm on January 30 last year, the dentist was outside Starbucks on Union Street with another colleague when they became aware of Hussain walking close by.
“The complainer tried to make no eye contact with Mr Hussain,” Mr Finnon said.
“But it became clear that Mr Hussain was not trying to avoid him and, when they passed each other, Mr Hussain lifted his arm and struck the complainer to the groin with his open hand.
“As a result, all parties stopped and faced one another.”
Police were once again contacted and they arrested Hussain, who stated that he was “not trying to cause harm” and had “just had his hand out like that”.
Appearing in the dock, Hussain pleaded guilty to two charges of assault.
Sheriff imposes supervision
Defence solicitor Jenny Logan told the court that her client “accepted that his actions would have caused concern to the complainer”.
She also advised that Hussain was willing to pay compensation to his dentist.
However, Sheriff Robert Vaughn disagreed, stating that he did not think just drawing a line under the matter would be an appropriate disposal.
He told Hussain: “I have taken into account the circumstances of these offences and there’s an unusual aspect to this case.
“I think the appropriate disposal is a community order with supervision from a social worker.”
As an alternative to custody, Sheriff Vaughn made Hussain, of Powis Crescent, Aberdeen, subject to a community payback order with supervision for 12 months and ordered him to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
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