A BUCKIE RESTAURANT owner was left requiring treatment at Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin after being mistaken for a taxi driver and attacked in the early hours of the morning.
Elgin Sheriff Court was told on Thursday that Halal Khan was getting into his car outside his business in Cluny Square in the early hours of Sunday, March 22 when he was approached by 24-year-old Ricky Clark.
Clark, of Bryson Crescent in Portessie, claimed that he thought Mr Khan was a taxi driver and asked to be taken home – but when he refused he dragged him from the vehicle and repeatedly punched him and kicked him in the head.
Mr Khan, who is the owner of the Bengal Brasserie, was taken to Dr Gray’s in Elgin where he was found to have suffered a broken nose, temporary loss of hearing and swelling to his face.
Finding Clark guilty Sheriff David Hall ordered him to pay £500 in compensation to Mr Khan as well as undertaking 100 hours of community service to be served over six months. He was told that he would be allowed to pay the compensation in five £100 monthly instalments.