A vicious thug told another man he would “shank him”, throw acid in his friend’s face and burn his dogs alive, all over an unpaid drug debt.
Joginder Niner made the terrifying threats over Snapchat to a man he claims owed him £1,500 from a “commercial venture”.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard the 34-year-old’s victim was a drug user and that Niner had become frustrated over the large debt remaining unpaid in October last year.
The builder, now living in Birmingham, threatened to pay the man a visit with his “boyz” and use a “shank”, the word often used to describe a homemade knife, to hurt him.
‘Make sure you have my 500’
Niner sent his victim a message from his Snapchat account stating: “I am coming to see you tomoz with my shank and my boyz.
“Make sure you have my 500 or I am using the shank to crush you. 100.
“No more Mr Nice Guy or games.”
In further messages he threatened to turn up at the man’s house to burn his dogs alive and to throw acid in the face of a woman.
Fiscal depute Kirsty Martin said that the next day Niner sent more messages on Snapchat detailing how the debt could be settled through the sale of personal assets.
“The witness is a drug user and had been purchasing controlled drugs from the accused on a weekly basis,” Miss Martin added.
‘I’ll kick your face off’
She then read out more messages and threats sent by Niner, mainly consisting of foul language, but calling him a “grass” and accusing him of telling lies before a further threat that he was going to “kick his face off”.
Police were contacted and Niner voluntarily travelled from his new home in Birmingham to Aberdeen to hand himself in.
Defence agent Mike Munro said Niner, a dad to young children, had turned over a new leaf since his move south.
“These messaged were responded to by the complainer too,” Mr Munro said.
“My client advises me he was due £1,500 as a result of a commercial venture that had not been paid. The complainer had promised time and again to pay it.
“The debt remains unpaid.”
He added that the complainer was also well known to the court and so the messages, though undeserved, were “perhaps not so threatening to him as they would have been to another”.
Niner had a significant record
Niner, formerly of Aberdeen’s Jamaica Street and now of Haygley Road West, Oldbury, admitted a charge of behaving in a threatening and abusive manner.
Sheriff William Summers warned him jail was a possibility, given he is no stranger to the court, with his latest appearance taking place in August.
“This is a troubling offence in the course of which you made violent and disturbing threats to do harm,” the sheriff told him.
He ordered Niner to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work, as a direct alternative to custody.
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