A ROMANIAN migrant has been ordered to pay £2,500 in compensation after he broke a man’s jaw with a single punch in Kendal, a court heard.
Fanal Ciriblan was convicted by a judge of wounding / inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent after a trial – and has consequently been ordered to complete the maximum number of unpaid work hours a court can impose.
Prosecutor Lee Dacre said the incident took place in Kendal town centre on the afternoon of May 30, 2023.
Mr Dacre explained the background to the offending.
“The victim and his employer claimed the defendant had sold him a fake mobile phone,” he said.
“They asked the defendant to stay at the scene until the police arrived, but he ran away.
“A short time later they saw the defendant again. He punched the victim to the face with so much force he fell to the ground.
“He had to be taken to hospital where he had an operation because he had a fractured jaw.”
The court heard Ciriblan pleaded not guilty, claiming he had punched the man in self-defence. However, that was rejected by Judge Thompson who convicted Ciriblan of the offence.
In mitigation, defence solicitor Raj Chopra explained: “The defendant came to England for a good life. He has a permanent rented settlement in the UK. He has seven children, three of which live with him. He works very hard as a cleaner to support his family.
“His wife is a housewife who does not speak English. His three children and wife depend on him.
“He is a church goer and regrets what happened that day. He is remorseful for his actions but still claims he acted in self-defence. However, he cannot hide behind the trial decision.
“Probation have assessed him as being a low risk and at no danger to the public. It was a one-off incident.
“He has no previous convictions. He does not take drugs or alcohol, and he has no mental health issues.
“A compensation order would cause exceptional hardship for his family.”
Magistrates sentenced Ciriblan to a high level 12-month community order comprising of one requirement of undertaking 300 hours of unpaid work.
They also ordered the defendant to pay £2,500 in compensation to the victim after deeming the injury to be ‘relatively serious’.
The court was told that was to be paid at a rate of £100 per month.
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