A one-punch thug whose victim needed nearly £8,000 of dental work has been ordered to pay “token” compensation of just £270.
Dale McClure carried out a vicious assault outside a Dundee pub in March 2020.
His victim was left severely injured and permanently disfigured, Perth Sheriff Court heard.
The man’s mother was forced to take out a loan to pay for about £7,500 of teeth repairs.
McClure, 23, admitted the single blow assault when he appeared in the dock earlier this summer.
At the time, he was warned that he would have to pay a compensation order to his victim.
Sheriff Euan Duthie said he didn’t want the man’s family “to be left out of pocket”.
Monthly installments
But when McClure returned to the dock for sentencing this week, the court heard that he didn’t have the funds to pay a significant sum.
The sheriff told him he would have to pay a “token” amount of £270 – at a rate of £15 over 18 months.
He said: “If it were not for your low income, I would have made you pay compensation of £8,000.”
McClure, of Albert Street, Dundee, was also placed on supervision for 20 months.
The attack happened at Tam’s Bar, Rosemount Street, on March 8, 2020 – just days before the first Covid lockdown.
Fiscal depute Rebecca Kynaston told the court: “The complainer lives with his mother, who told us that the cost of the dental treatment was £7,500.
“A personal loan was taken out in order to pay for her son’s treatment.”
She said: “She pays this back in monthly instalments.”
Single punch campaign
In 2018, Police Scotland launched its now-annual One Punch awareness drive.
The campaign was established after six people died following single-punch assaults in a 12-month period.
Licensees are encouraged to help spread the message which is further promoted through posters in bars and clubs, as well as posts and videos on social media.
Footballer John Black, from Blairgowrie, helped launch the campaign by telling how his career was destroyed by a single-punch assault.
