A FATHER WHO knocked out the two front teeth of another man after he claimed the victim laughed at his penis while he was urinating in a pub bathroom has received a fully suspended sentence.
Slaven Tokic (41) told gardaí that he had been at the urinals in Dublin’s Portobello Bar when he said the man beside him started pointing at his penis and laughing at him.
“He was making a joke about me and pointing at my penis while I was urinating and laughing,” Tokic said.
He said as they were then both leaving the bathroom they were shouldering each other trying to get out the small doorway.
Tokic said he returned to his table when the man approached him and said something to him, but he couldn’t remember what, before he punched him.
Tokic of College View, Ballymun in Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm at Portobello Bar, Richmond Street, on 26 May 2018. He has no previous convictions.
Passing sentence yesterday, Judge Melanie Greally noted that Tokic had raised €4,000 in compensation which the injured party was happy to accept.
Judge Greally sentenced Tokic to two years imprisonment, but she suspended the sentence in full on strict conditions including that he hand over the money to the victim within 48 hours.
At an earlier sentencing hearing, Garda Stephen Grogan told Antonia Boyle BL, prosecuting, that the victim, Andy Lynch, approached him on his arrival at the bar and told him he had been the subject of an “unprovoked assault”.
He said Tokic had shoved against his right shoulder while he was drying his hands in the bathroom.
Lynch said he left the bathroom and was making his way back to his brother when he spotted Tokic, approached him and asked “Are you alright?”
He said Tokic punched him in the face. He felt pain straight away and was in shock. His two front teeth were knocked out with the strike and his lip was split.
Garda Grogan said that Tokic was identified as the culprit by security at Portobello and he remained at the scene until gardaí arrived. CCTV footage was played in the court in which Tokic could be seen swinging twice at Lynch with one punch connecting with the man’s face.
A victim impact report said Lynch had lost his two front teeth and an additional tooth was removed by a dental technician. He has false teeth at the moment and may in the future be deemed suitable for implants.
He also required stitches to his split lip. He had difficulty eating at the time and suffered headaches. He still has trouble eating certain foods and some cold drinks cause him pain.
Garda Grogan agreed with Daniel Donnelly BL, defending, that his client is a Croatian national who has been living in Ireland for over five years. He was recently married at the time of the assault and his wife was expecting their first child.
He accepted that the offence was “out of character” and “a moment of madness”. Donnelly suggested that the “matter could have ended” if the victim had not approached his client.
Donnelly said his client and his wife had just bought a new house at the time of the assault.
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