A nurse at Perth Prison was subjected to a terrifying tirade of racist abuse when he caught an inmate trying to steal medication, a court has heard.
Wardens were forced to intervene when Jason Moore hurled a series of vile insults at a visiting NHS Tayside healthcare worker.
Moore, 26, appeared from custody at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted shouting, swearing and acting in a racially aggravated manner towards practitioner nurse Mumtaz Hussain, causing him alarm and distress, in D Hall at the prison at around 7pm on June 13.
Moore, who was imprisoned for 12 months earlier this year, had his sentence extended by 30 days.
Depute fiscal Bill Kermode said that Mr Hussain was distributing medication to prisoners from behind a hatch.
Prisoners were told to prove they had taken their tablets before being allowed back to their cell block, he said.
Mr Kermode went on: “Mr Moore approached the hatch and was given his medication and asked to swallow it.
“When he was asked to open his mouth, Mr Hussain noticed he was trying to conceal the pill.”
The court heard that when the nurse asked him to swallow the tablet, Moore replied: “Who do you think you are?” and began swearing and shouting racist abuse.
Officers led Moore back to his cell as he continued to shout at Mr Hussain, who later said he was left shaken and “extremely upset” by the ordeal.
He said he had felt threatened by Moore, added Mr Kermode.
Defence agent Jaclyn Meisel said that Moore had been bullied by other inmates.
“He was prescribed a sleeping tablet and he was trying to keep it so that he could pass it on to someone else in the prison, someone who he was getting hassle from,” she said.
She added that, after the incident, Moore was brought before the prison governor twice, had his cash frozen and was later transferred to HMP Edinburgh.
“He is quite ashamed at the way he lost control on this occasion,” she said.
Sentencing Moore, Sheriff Michael Fletcher told him: “This is someone who came to prison to help you and the way you treated him was unacceptable.”