A DUNDEE man kicked his former partner on the head as she cleaned up broken glass from a lightbulb he drunkenly smashed in her kitchen.
Richard Saunders, 47, pushed Heather Scott to the ground before kicking her.
Fiscal depute Trina Sinclair said Saunders and Ms Scott had been in a relationship that ended 15 years ago but they had remained in what could be described as an on-off relationship since the split.
The fiscal said: “On December 31 last year, the complainer arranged to pick up the accused, as they were planning on going to a bar later that evening.
“When she picked him up, the accused smelled of alcohol and he continued to drink from a bottle of vodka he had brought with him.
“The complainer described his behaviour as erratic and out of character.
“He was saying things like, ‘Live fast, die young’, and other things she says he wouldn’t normally say.”
The pair went to Ms Scott’s home in Salton Crescent.
The fiscal continued: “The complainer goes on to describe him as severely intoxicated.
“When he was in the kitchen she heard him say, ‘This is what happens’, then he smashed a lightbulb off the ceiling.
“She began to sweep broken glass off the floor and he pushed her over, causing her to fall to the ground.”
Saunders then kicked Ms Scott on the head, causing her to bleed at her right eye, and she called police. Officers arrived and noted Ms Scott was visibly stressed and shaking.
She was taken to Ninewells Hospital and Saunders was traced outside where he was arrested.
Solicitor David Duncan, defending, told the court Saunders struggled with many difficulties, including problems relating to alcohol abuse.
Saunders, of Scotscraig Road, admitted assaulting Heather Scott by pushing her on the body, causing her to fall to the ground, and kicking her on the head, to her injury, at Salton Crescent, on December 31.
Sheriff Alastair Brown said even one single kick to the head could kill, adding: “The court will always treat this type of assault as serious.”
Saunders was placed on a 24-week restriction of liberty order, confining him to his home address between 7pm and 7am daily.
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