A yob whose brain was “fried by drugs” stabbed a stranger in Aberdeen city centre after the reveller accidentally stumbled into him.
Zahidur Rahman reacted angrily to being bumped into outside The Stag on Crown Street, pulling out a blade and plunging it into the man’s hip.
The stunned victim immediately lost feeling in his leg and fell to the ground with a 2-3-inch-deep wound.
The man’s friends managed to restrain Rahman, 26, and wrestle the knife away from him before police arrived.
Fiscal depute David Rogers told Aberdeen Sheriff Court the incident happened around 3.20am on August 27 2022.
He said the complainer and his friends were making their way towards Windmill Brae following a night out together.
Friends wrestled knife from attacker
As they passed The Stag on Crown Street, the complainer “stumbled and accidentally bumped into the accused who immediately became aggressive”.
Mr Rogers said: “The complainer raised his hands up to show he was no threat to the accused and asked him to calm down.
“The accused removed a switchblade knife from his pocket and pointed it towards the complainer.”
One of the group tried to intervene and urged Rahman to calm down.
But Rahman “lunged” towards the complainer, who felt a “sharp pain to his left hip” before immediately losing feeling in his leg, causing him to fall to the ground.
The man’s friends managed to restrain Rahman on the ground until police arrived.
One of the group was able to wrestle the knife away from Rahman and handed it over to the police.
In reply to being cautioned and arrested, Rahman said: “I don’t know what happened.”
Permanently scarred
When searched at Kittybrewster station, he was found with a bag containing 0.22g of cocaine.
The injured man was left with a 2-3 inch inward and 1-inch wide laceration to his lower left abdomen/hip.
He was initially left with numbness to his thigh and knee and coldness to the rear of his thigh due to circulation issues.
He also suffered from aching and shooting pains when he moved and struggled to sit down for a period.
The injury, which prevented him from working until it was fully healed, also left a permanent scar.
‘Murky world of illicit drugs’
Rahman, of Wallfield Crescent, Aberdeen, pled guilty to charges of assault to severe injury and permanent disfigurement and possession of cocaine.
Defence agent Liam Mcallister described the case as both “horrifying” and “tragic”.
He said: “Mr Rahman, as he currently appears before the court and in my discussions with him, is so far removed from the man on August 27 2022 that it’s very difficult for Mr Rahman and me to equate the two.”
He described Rahman as “mild-mannered, courteous and respectful of others”.
The solicitor explained his client had previously been caught up in “the murky world of illicit drugs” and had become “more and more addicted”.
He said Rahman had also spent a month in Cornhill Hospital.
He continued: “His brain being so fried by drugs meant his paranoia made it difficult for me to take instruction and ultimately led to the commission of the offence.”
‘A very, very serious matter’
Mr Mcallister added that Rahman had spent almost 700 days on a bail curfew and was now living with his partner who was helping him tackle his issues with drugs and mental health.
Sheriff Philip Mann told Rahman: “Assaulting someone with a knife is a very, very serious matter.
“It could have resulted in the catastrophic loss of life, let’s not shy away from that.
“I’ve listened to what Mr Mcallister has said on your behalf and I’m persuaded, because of the background and the fact you’ve been on a curfew for a very considerable period of time and because of the contents of the social work report, that there is an alternative to a custodial sentence here.”
As a direct alternative to prison, Sheriff Mann ordered Rahman to complete 175 hours of unpaid work.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen as well as crime and breaking incidents, join our Facebook group.
