A teenage thug who left another man with part of his lip hanging off after a vicious attack has been spared a prison sentence.
Marcus Kaye punched Gregor Ramsay so hard outside the Dundee University Students’ Association (DUSA) that he was left needing 12 stitches in his lip.
A sheriff opted not to impose a custodial sentence on the 19-year-old, alluding to new draft guidelines from the Scottish Sentencing Council calling on less people under the age of 25 to be jailed because their brains are not fully mature.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard that part of Mr Ramsay’s lip was hanging off because of Kaye’s drunken assault.
Kaye had taken umbrage to Mr Ramsay becoming involved in a disagreement outside the union on Balfour Street.
Fiscal depute Julie McAra said: “At approximately 2.30am, the premises were closing and witnesses walked out of the building.
“They saw the accused and another male appearing to engage in a disturbance. The complainer thought his was wrong and approached the accused to try and calm the situation.
“The accused spontaneously punched the complainer with a closed right fist without any provocation.
“The witness instantly felt his lip cut open and his mouth fill with blood. The cut was so severe that part of his lip was hanging from his mouth.
Mr Ramsay, who suffered a 1.5cm cut to his bottom lip, was ushered inside the union by security staff while Kaye fled the scene.
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He received 12 stitches after being taken to Ninewells Hospital for treatment and was left with a permanent scar.
Kaye, of Wentworth Lane, made no response to caution and charge after his arrest.
On the day he was due to stand trial, Kaye pleaded guilty to punching Mr Ramsay on the head to his severe injury and permanent disfigurement on Balfour Street on October 2 last year.
Defence solicitor Ross Donnelly said Kaye, who hopes to join the army, had consumed too much alcohol on the night in question and appreciated he was at risk of a custodial sentence.
When passing sentence, Sheriff Way said: “I have to do what I can to keep him out of custody if there are options open to me.
“In my view, a culmination of unpaid work and a restriction of liberty order might be more arduous than simply locking him away.”
Kaye was placed on supervision for one year and ordered to perform 250 hours unpaid work.
He was also made subject to a restriction of liberty order keeping him indoors between 7pm and 5am for six months. The sentence was made as a direct alternative to custody.
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