A hotel worker punched a colleague in the face during a disciplinary meeting with bosses.
Elena Sandu attacked Purita Medina and threatened to kill her following an argument over a noisy hair dryer at the Pitlochry Hydro Hotel.
The 35-year-old lost her job at the Highland Perthshire venue, Perth Sheriff Court heard.
She appeared in the dock and admitted assaulting Ms Medina and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner on October 11 last year.
‘Sit down chat’
Fiscal depute Rebecca Kynaston said Ms Medina turned up at Sandu’s door in the hotel’s staff accommodation block at about 6.30am.
“She went to the accused’s room to complain about the noise of her hair dryer.
“Later that morning, the complainer was in the laundry room when the accused entered.”
Sandu began shouting and told Ms Medina: “F*** you, b****.”
Ms Medina then went to her supervisor to explain what had happened.
The pair were called in to their line manager’s office for a “sit down chat,” Ms Kynaston told the court.
“The accused again called the complainer a ‘f***ing b****’
“A member of staff tried to stop the situation from escalating.”
Sandu lunged at her co-worker and punched her to the right side of the face.
The fiscal depute said: “The accused continued to try and punch and kick the complainer. One of her kicks connected with her hip.”
Sandu shouted: “I will kill you.”
Ms Medina left the room in an effort to defuse the situation.
The supervisor called police and Sandu was arrested.
Already punished
Solicitor Paul Ralph, defending, said: “It’s not very edifying, is it?
“As may not be surprising, Ms Sandu was told her employment would not be continued at the hotel.”
Her partner, who also worked at the hotel, handed in his notice as well. The pair now work in Salford, Manchester.
Sheriff William Wood told Sandu: “To some extent, you have already been punished for this by losing your job.
“But that is not the end of the matter as far as I am concerned.”
He said: “You simply cannot behave in this way. You mustn’t lose your temper in the way that you did.”
Sandu, whose address was listed as Bindloss Avenue, Eccles, was fined £450.
The hotel re-opened in summer 2021 after a temporary shutdown during the pandemic.
We told how, during the the venue’s closure, live-in staff faced an anxious race against time to find new work and leave the site.
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