A DUNDEE restaurateur who stabbed himself and cut a police officer’s finger during an incident at his estranged wife’s home was yesterday sent to prison for seven months by Sheriff Richard Davidson.

Serecettin Buyukingbol (42), Campbell Street, had admitted that on January 2 in Grove Road he committed a breach of the peace by repeatedly knocking on the door and ringing the doorbell asking to be let in. He had also admitted brandishing a knife, repeatedly threatening to kill himself, stabbing himself on the body, refusing to give the knife to police officers and struggling with them, whereby Constable Allan Johnstone sustained an injury to his hand.

He had further admitted breaching a bail condition prohibiting him from going to his wife’s home or contacting her and being in possession of a knife illegally.

The court heard that after the accused had arrived at his estranged wife’s home and began threatening to kill himself and demanding to be let in, the police were called. They arrived and one officer tried to distract the accused while another tried to get close enough to use CS spray but the accused stabbed himself in the stomach.

He was then grabbed and it was during a short struggle that Constable Johnstone sustained a deep cut to his left hand.

Yesterday depute fiscal Sandy Mitchell said the injury consisted of a deep cut to the left index finger from the tip to the base. The nerve was cut through in two places and had to be repaired by surgery.

It was too early for a long-term prognosis but it was suspected the officer would suffer from a significant reduction in feeling in his finger and the injury would leave a permanent scar.

Mr Mitchell said the other police officer, while uninjured, had suffered from post-traumatic stress following the incident.

After reading reports by a forensic psychiatrist and a social worker, Sheriff Davidson told Buyukingbol he presented a difficult set of circumstances to the court.

“No doubt you were in a highly emotional state at the time but, having said that, to suggest to the psychiatrist and the social worker that the whole thing was an unfortunate and unhappy coincidence, you having taken the knife from your restaurant in order to cook at home and ending up at your wife’s home is simply not credible,” he continued.

“You went quite deliberately to your wife’s house in order to go through this charade of injuring yourself, without any thought to the distress caused to her and your children. The police officers who came to deal with you found you out of control.

“The psychiatrist’s report makes it clear that firstly you are not suffering from any mental illness and secondly you drink too much.

“You have told the social worker you are not prepared to undertake community service or a restriction of liberty order. You are unsuitable for probation because you have not accepted responsibility for your actions or shown any remorse for them.

“I am not prepared to tolerate people waving knives around in a threatening manner and injuring, albeit accidentally, police officers.”