A Dunfermline man attacked and racially abused a taxi driver after he told him to sit in the back seat and refused to take him to Alloa.
Mark Marshall, 20, had earlier shouted abuse at two teenage girls near an Asda store in the city’s St Leonards Street.
The offences took place on June 10 this year and Marshall appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court for sentencing.
Racially abuse and assaulted driver
Procurator fiscal depute Amy Robertson said a female acquaintance of Marshall’s had asked a taxi driver, Pervez Hussain, to go to Dunfermline city train station and when they arrived, Marshall was there and tried to get into the front passenger seat.
Ms Robertson said: “Mr Hussain asked him to sit in the back.
“The accused thereafter requested the taxi driver to take him to Alloa and when the taxi driver refused, he became aggressive and referred to Mr Hussain as a ‘p**i b*****d’ before getting out of the passenger door”.
As Marshall got out of the vehicle he began to hit the driver on the chest, then walked to the driver side and opened the door.
The fiscal continued: “He began to repeatedly punch and kick Mr Hussain to the body”.
The driver was able to close the door before driving to the police station to report the attack.
Marshall pled guilty assaulting his victim during the course of his employment by repeatedly kicking and punching him on the body to his injury.
The offence was deemed racially aggravated.
Thought girls were filming him
Marshall, of Dunfermline‘s Afton Grove, also admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner towards the girls, who were aged 16 and 17.
Ms Robertson said he was seen by the girls carrying a fishbowl-shaped drinking glass and took umbrage to the girls looking at him.
The fiscal said he shouted at the teenagers using the words “slut” and “slag”.
Marshall’s defence lawyer said his client was under the impression one of the girls may have been filming or taking photos of him at the time.
The solicitor said the other incident was more serious and Marshall accepts it was entirely inappropriate.
The lawyer said Marshall had consumed a “great deal of alcohol” that evening.
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis said Marshall has a “significant” record, including for assault.
The court heard he was convicted by a jury in Airdrie in early 2021.
Sheriff Foulis sentenced Marshall to 240 hours of unpaid work as part of a 12-month community payback order.
For the latest court cases across Tayside and Fife, join our dedicated Facebook page.
