A woman who sliced open the neck of another clubber in Arbroath has been sent to prison.
Marie Huggan smashed a bottle over a woman at De Vito’s nightclub after screaming “do you know who I am?”.
The 44-year-old also attacked the bottling victim’s friend by punching her on the head and body during the same incident.
A sheriff told Huggan, who has three young children, only a jail term could reflect the gravity of her actions.
‘No appropriate alternative’ to prison
Huggan had previously pled guilty at Dundee Sheriff Court to attacking the two women.
Defence solicitor Keith Sym said his client was extremely remorseful for the permanent scarring she inflicted.
“The harm caused by you to the victim is significant, both physical and psychological,” Sheriff Paul Brown said.
“I have listened to everything said on your behalf and I take that into account.
“You have clearly expressed remorse.
“I am afraid given the circumstances of this offence, there’s no appropriate alternative to a custodial sentence in my view.”
Bottle attack described
It was previously revealed how the two women had been out drinking and dancing before spotting Huggan sitting in a booth by the bar area.
One of the women was approached by Huggan and were joined by two others.
Prosecutor Christine Allan said: “At around 1.45am, the accused was heard shouting ‘do you know who I am?’ and ‘you should – don’t start s***’.
“The accused stood up and struck the complainer to the head with a bottle, causing it to break.”
She said the woman “felt blood coming from her neck” and was left “severely injured”.
Huggan then punched the other woman’s head causing her to fall to the ground.
Security staff intervened and as they compressed the neck wound, an ambulance was called and passing police were flagged down.
Ms Allan added: “At around 2.30am, ambulance staff arrived.
“They observed a 10-to-12-inch cut to the left side of (the victim’s) neck.
“It ran from the midline of her jaw to the collarbone.”
The victim was left with a permanent scar on her neck and shooting pain on the back of her head where she had been hit by the bottle.
She also had black bruising on her eyes.
Huggan, of Ness Drive, Arbroath, admitted assaulting both women at De Vito’s nightclub, Millgate, on July 10 2022.
PTSD diagnosis for accused
Mr Sym said his client has dealt with the effects of trauma over a number of years and was entirely empathetic towards her victim.
He had urged Sheriff Brown to imposed a stringent community payback order.
“She has disgraced herself and deserves everything she gets.
“They are not my words but her words from the social work report.
“She is someone that understands trauma and can well understand the trauma that she has created for the complainer in this case.
“She was devastated when she became aware of the nature of the injuries when she saw the photographs and CCTV evidence.
“She has had a recent diagnosis of PTSD.
“There are things that have happened to her in her life that would have scarred her throughout her adult life.”
Mr Sym said Huggan did not minimise her actions and said she felt “under threat” during the incident.
Her nine-month prison sentence was reduced from 13 months because she pled guilty.
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