A takeaway boss who killed his friend in a row over a tandoori chicken order has been jailed for nearly three years.
Hidayet Ozden repeatedly punched chef Shahzad Shah and hit him with a pot handle during a fracas at the Mirchi Indian Cuisine in Mintlaw.
Mr Shah, who was suffering from a “very serious” undiagnosed heart condition, was left slumped on the floor after the attack on April 11 this year.
Ozden, 53, last month admitted killing his friend at the High Court in Edinburgh. He was originally charged with murder, but the Crown accepted the lesser charge of culpable homicide.
Jailing him for 32 months at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday, judge Graham Buchanan QC said: “I take account of the fact it is accepted by the Crown that you did not intend to kill Mr Shah.
“He died of a very serious heart condition, of which you were unaware. He could have died at any point if placed in a stressful situation. Mr Shah was a close friend and business colleague of yours for many years. I accept you were subject to a degree of provocation by Mr Shah.
“Mr Shah suffered a fractured cheekbone and a small bone in his neck was also broken. None of the injuries inflicted contributed directly to his death. However a man has lost his life and his family has been left devastated.”
Mr Shah had not been due to work on the day of his death, but offered to help Ozden.
However, a row broke out between the pair over a customer’s order. Ozden hit Mr Shah with the handle of a frying pan, and pushed and punched him after he asked whether the tandoori chicken was to be on the bone and if they could call to clarify.
After the attack, Mr Shah appeared to be in shock and Ozden was told to leave, but returned a minute or so later and continued to push the 56-year-old, who then collapsed.
Paramedics were called and Ozden went to his friend’s aid with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Defence QC Ian Duguid said: “Mr Ozden has never tried to minimise his involvement in his friend’s death. He wants to express his regret to Mr Shah’s family.”
Mr Duguid showed the judge a photograph of Mr Shah’s diseased heart and said: “He was in such poor health. He was vulnerable to any kind of stress and it was that that brought about his death.”
Mr Shah had worked at the Mirchi for two years and “religiously” sent his wages back to Pakistan to support his wife and twin children.
In the wake of his death, colleagues raised more than £2,000 to send to Pakistan to help the chef’s family in their hour of need. But after Ozden pleaded guilty last month, Mr Shah’s widow, Syeda Naila, said she did not know how she was going to cope and that his admission “achieved nothing”.
Last night Mirchi owner Shahid Ali, who raced to the kitchen when his staff told him the two men were fighting, said the whole affair was a “waste of two lives”.
“Distraught is the word for how his family are feeling,” Mr Ali said. “Shocked initially but not really angry because they know they were friends with each other.
“It’s such a tragedy – it affects so many people and it was a needless moment of madness. How many times would a fight like that have ended up less serious somewhere like Union Street in Aberdeen?”
