A £60,000-a-year electrician who broke an innocent man’s nose with a headbutt in a Forfar street attack has been hit with a four-figure penalty.
Scott Harper, whose previous record for violence took him to the brink of prison, lunged at the man in the 1am incident after he offered to light a cigarette for his wife.
The petrochemical plant employee is now working in Rotterdam, and Sheriff Pino Di Emidio told him that only a lengthy gap in his bad record had spared him from custody.
Depute fiscal Stewart Duncan told Forfar sheriff court victim Fraser Edwards had been in Castle Street around 1.10am when he offered to light a cigarette for a woman he had become involved in a conversation with.
“Without warning he (Harper) stepped forward and headbutted him in the face, causing his nose to bleed,” said the fiscal.
At Ninewells Hospital, Edwards’ nose was found to be broken and he had to have it re-broken to reset it.
Defence solicitor Nick Markowski said Harper, from Kirriemuir, had “got himself into a fair bit of trouble” in his younger days.
“He made a conscious decision around 2010 to dissociate himself from his peer group.
“He is someone who had always had a strong work ethic and that has saved him from prison on more than one occasion, but when he was drinking had a tendency to get into difficulty.
“He has worked all over the world and is now living in Rotterdam. He had come back to meet up with pals and has no recollection of this incident.”
Mr Markowski added: “The court’s immediate instinct might be to see the record and seek reports but he is in a position to pay a heavy financial penalty.”
Sheriff Di Emidio told Harper: “You have convictions for assault to injury, assault to severe injury and assault to severe injury and permanent impairment.
“I take into account there has been a significant gap since your last offence and you appear to have radically changed your life.
“Had it not been for that I would likely have taken a significantly more severe view.”
He fined Harper £600 and ordered him to pay £400 compensation to his victim.
