A 47-YEAR-OLD man accused of punching another man in the head and biting his cheek has claimed that the alleged victim threw the first punch.
Simon Livingstone was giving evidence on the second day of his trial for grave and criminal assault in the Royal Court.
He told the court: “I’ve not bitten anyone … It’s just not something I would do.”
The alleged victim said on Monday 20 May that Mr Livingstone assaulted him in an unprovoked attack outside the Earl Granville pub on the evening of 14 July last year, punching him several times and biting him when they were on the ground.
But answering questions yesterday from Advocate Mike Preston, defending, Mr Livingstone said: “I got punched in the mouth. I punched him back.”
He explained that he had attended a wake at the pub in Charles Street that evening but felt unwell and went out for some fresh air.
On the way out he stumbled against the alleged victim’s wife, but said: “I didn’t mean to bang into her. I was trying to get out.”
He said that was when the alleged victim attacked him.
He added: “There was a scuffle. A couple of punches were thrown and there was grappling. We both ended up on the floor. He had his hands round my neck.
“Then we got split up. Somebody grabbed me from the back.”
Mr Livingstone said he sustained a fat lip and a broken tooth in the fight, but Crown Advocate Luke Sette, prosecuting, asked him why there was no evidence of the injuries.
Mr Livingstone said: “I didn’t go home and take pictures of my fat lip.”
He also said he had originally been arrested for common assault but was only rearrested for the more serious offence of grave and criminal assault after the biting allegation had been made.
He said of the allegation: “I’ve not bitten anyone. I think it’s disgusting.
“You don’t know what germs you are going to catch. It’s just not something I would do.”
Mr Livingstone also claimed he was acting in self-defence, but Crown Advocate Sette said: “You went well beyond what was necessary by biting him.”
He repeated: “I didn’t bite anybody.”
The court also heard from Alan Martin, a friend of Mr Livingstone, who witnessed the fight and helped break it up.
He said: “I didn’t see what started it, but it was pathetic. It was like two eight-year-olds at school.”
And of the biting allegation, he said: “I didn’t see anything like that.”
The trial is expected to conclude on Wednesday 22 May. Commissioner Sir Michael Birt is presiding.
