A man who stabbed an acquaintance in the back and chest in a row that started over spilt oil in shared accommodation, has been jailed for three years.
Housseyn Chaoui (30) got into a disagreement with another man in his shared accommodation in Dublin after some oil was spilled and a physical row broke out briefly, before it was broken up by others, the court heard.
When the victim walked out to the garden a few minutes later, Chaoui came up behind him and stabbed him to the chest and back with a small knife, leaving two wounds. The victim was taken to hospital where he was kept in for three days for treatment.
Chaoui, of Rathmines Road, Rathmines, was arrested a short time later. He pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing harm at the address on March 9th last year. It is an offence that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years, George Burns, prosecuting, told the court.
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Chaoui, who is originally from Algeria, has nine previous convictions, including threatening and abusive behaviour and damaging property. The court heard he was previously a victim of a serious assault in Dublin, which has left him with severe memory loss and epilepsy.
The court heard this piece of offending occurred during Ramadan, when everyone in the house had been fasting since dawn, which caused “a considerable amount of irritability”, said Judge Martin Nolan while passing sentence on Friday.
He took into account Chaoui’s guilty plea and remorse, which the judge accepted was “true remorse”. The court heard Chaoui has been in custody since this offence, but has no family here and very little English. As a result, his time in custody has been more difficult, Joe Mulrean, defending, told the court.
The judge said Chaoui was carrying out an “act of vengeance” when he attacked the other man, noting: “It is a serious assault when you attack another person with a knife.”
He set a headline sentence of six years, which he reduced to three, taking mitigation into account. He backdated the sentence to when Chaoui went into custody on the date of the assault.
