A Fife woman who called a shop owner a “suicide bomber” and “p*ki” tried to imitate his voice while defending herself in court.
Zoe Maclean, 37, was convicted of racially abusing Muhammed Aslam at his Nisa Local store in Rosyth’s Admiralty Road on September 16, 2021.
She had denied the allegation and claimed he reacted angrily when she asked if there were any cheaper toilet rolls.
But she was found guilty by Sheriff John MacRitchie following a trial at court.
Racist abuse
Giving evidence, 46-year-old Mr Aslam told Dunfermline Sheriff Court he had said “excuse me” to Maclean as he walked past her in the shop, before she said to him: “You suicide bomber”.
He was taken aback and spoke to one of his staff at the counter about it before asking Maclean if she had said it to him.
“She (Maclean) proceeded to say, ‘you heard, you p*ki’.
“I said to her, ‘get out of the shop’ and before leaving the main door she proceeds to say, Bugsy Malone is going to come and get you'”.
The colleague he spoke to, Julie Cessford, also told the court she had heard Maclean make a comment similar to “bang bang Bugsy Malone” as she left the store.
Ms Cessford was unable to recall if she heard Maclean making a racist comment but said her account given to police at the time – which included her hearing the term “p*ki” – would have been true.
Accent ‘quite peculiar’
Questioned by fiscal depute Jill Currie, Maclean said she only asked Mr Aslam if he had any cheaper toilet rolls in store, before he walked off up the aisle.
She claimed she thought he was going to come back with some information but told the court – while apparently attempting to imitate his accent – he said: “Get out of my shop, get out of my shop”.
Ms Currie asked Maclean if there was any reason she had put on an accent, prompting the accused to put on the voice again and repeat the words.
Unemployed Maclean then said: “He was speaking more in his own tone.
“When he was getting upset he was more Indian”.
In her closing submission, Ms Currie said: “On three occasions she (Maclean) recounted what was said, she produced an accent she attributed as being Indian and when asked why, noted he changed the tone of his voice to be more Indian sounding”.
Ms Currie described this as “quite peculiar” but said it perhaps might show some of Maclean’s character.
Maclean claimed she did not call Mr Aslam a “p*ki”, adding “I have Indian in my blood” and that her mother is “half Indian”.
She claimed Mr Aslam seemed “pretty angry” when she asked him the question about toilet roll.
‘Fanciful nonsense’
Maclean, formerly of Rosyth‘s Duffy Place but now of Kirkcaldy, was found guilty of acting in a racially aggravated manner which caused, or was intended to cause, alarm or distress to Mr Aslam, by uttering racial abuse towards him.
Sheriff John MacRitchie said he did not find Maclean’s evidence to be “remotely credible” and he had no doubt Mr Aslam did not make up what happened as some kind of personal vendetta, as appears to have been suggested by Maclean.
The sheriff said: “It’s just fanciful nonsense”.
The sheriff deferred sentence for 12 months for her to be of good behaviour.
The court heard she has two previous convictions for public disorder at Justice of the Peace court level.
Defence lawyer David McLaughlin said Maclean’s last conviction was nine and a half year ago.
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