A 28-YEAR-OLD underwriter assaulted another man who later committed suicide by jumping from the Tay Road Bridge, Dundee Sheriff Court heard yesterday.

Forbes George Kelbie, of Dens Road, was found guilty after a trial before Sheriff Grant McCulloch of assaulting 30-year-old Graeme Buick outside Harlequins Bar, Princes Street, on September 21 last year by placing him in a head-lock and biting him on the neck to his injury.

The accused had entered a special defence of self-defence and told the court that he and Mr Buick had worked together in the past and were friendly.

They socialised and played football together, and continued to socialise even after Mr Buick was sacked.

Kelbie said that Mr Buick had put it around that it was he who had been responsible for having him fired.

However, on September 21, when Mr Buick had come into Harlequins Bar—the accused’s local—and got into conversation with him, Mr Buick said he knew that Kelbie had not been responsible.

Kelbie said he was surprised to see Mr Buick come into the bar; he had never been there before and lived in another part of town.

He said that during their time together in the bar Mr Buick’s emotions were very erratic, there were angry words, then they would shake hands, then he would start arguing again.

Mr Buick was very upset, among other things his marriage had broken down, he told the accused.

Latterly Mr Buick became very aggressive towards him, and in hindsight, said Kelbie, he should have walked away.

Eventually he said that if Mr Buick wanted to fight they should go outside.

The accused left and told the court, “I was hoping he wouldn’t follow me out.

“But he did and punched me two or three times on the head and I realised I had got myself into a position I couldn’t get out of.

“I walked towards him. I grabbed him and we fell to the ground with him on top.

“He was punching me with one hand and trying to gouge my right eye with a finger of his other hand.

“I don’t remember biting him but it is possible I did.

“I managed to get from under him and had him in a head-lock facing away from me and I saw blood on my arms.

“At that point someone from the pub came over and said ‘That’s it boys, the fight’s over,’ and pinned Mr Buick to the wall while I just walked away.

“I later heard Mr Buick had disappeared, but thought he was staying with some friend and too embarrassed to go home to his parents.

“I then learned that he had been found in the water. I felt a little responsible, maybe if I had walked away after leaving the pub. I don’t know. I just don’t know what else was going through his mind.”

Finding Kelbie guilty, Sheriff McCulloch said the self-defence special defence fell because he did not accept Kelbie was in imminent and real danger. To bite Mr Buick was cruel and excessive.

The sheriff told Kelbie, “None of us will ever know whether there was any direct connection between this fight and Mr Buick’s decision a few hours later to jump off the bridge. There were a lot of other things going wrong in his life.

“I am in something of a quandary about what to do next about sentencing, so I will call for a social inquiry report which hopefully will assist me.”

Sentence was deferred until May 16.

Mr Buick’s body was found on the shoreline near Crail on September 29.