A 34-YEAR-OLD has admitted hitting another man in the face with a glass in a St Helier nightclub – but said he had only meant to pour his drink over his head.
Stephen Christopher Phelan was fined £5,000 for committing a grave and criminal assault in Vittoria in the early hours of 16 December last year.
He admitted the offence, but the Magistrate’s Court heard that the injury was accidental.
Legal adviser Paul Lee, prosecuting, said Phelan had been holding a drink in his hand when the victim bumped into him, causing him to spill some of it.
The two men began to argue and Mr Lee said: “There was a brief exchange of pushes. The defendant tried to pour the remainder of the drink over the complainant’s head and the glass made contact with his face.”
The victim was left with cuts to his lip.
Advocate Greg Herold-Howes, defending, described the cuts as “minor, non-permanent injuries” and said: “He accepts that his actions were reckless, but this was not a planned or sustained attack. And he co-operated fully with the police.”
Relief Magistrate David Le Cornu noted that Phelan wrote a letter of remorse and imposed the fine rather than a jail sentence. He told him: “I don’t think we’ll see you again.”
