A THUG who permanently disfigured a man in an attack outside a Dundee bar has had his sentence quashed.
Harry Finnegan, 21, attacked Kevin Simpson, 48, after he asked one of Finnegan’s pals to take a glass back inside The Saltire pub on the Meadowside.
Mr Simpson needed stitches to repair the damage caused to him by Finnegan and following a court case at Dundee Sheriff Court earlier this year, Finnegan was handed an 18-month sentence behind bars.
But as the Tele revealed earlier this month, Finnegan appealed the severity of the sentence and had been bailed, pending the outcome.
He appeared at the High Court of Appeal in Edinburgh on Wednesday and had his sentence quashed.
It has been replaced with a community payback order, requiring Finnegan to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work in a six-month period.
Scottish Conservative North East MSP Alex Johnstone blasted the decision.
He said: “This was a very serious case, and most people would have expected it to result in a custodial sentence. So now that’s been quashed, the justice system will have to provide answers as to why.
“If we don’t punish violent offences properly, it will do nothing to deter them from occurring again and again.”
The Tele attempted to contact Finnegan’s legal representatives, but they could not be reached.
During the original court hearing into the attack, it was revealed that Mr Simpson had been drinking at The Saltire on April 15 last year when he was attacked.
He would often assist staff by collecting glasses and even sweeping the cellars. It had been close to closing time when Mr Simpson had seen a man about to leave the pub carrying a glass tumbler and that was when he went over to advise him not to take the glass outside.
CCTV footage of the incident showed Mr Simpson surrounded by several males including Finnegan, whose address was given as Fountainbleau Drive, Linlathen.
Mr Simpson was floored and when the police were called, Finnegan ran off towards Panmure Street before officers managed to catch him on St Andrews Street. The victim had to be given four stitches to a thick cut under his lip, which later scarred.
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