An Auchterarder man says justice has been served after the duo who tried to take his life were locked up for more than 15 years.
Rikki Millar, now 36, was permanently blinded in his left eye after being stabbed on Perth’s South Street in June.
The former car salesman was left to die after Portuguese pair Ruben Correia and Fernando Dos Santos attacked him, but the dad of three says he is ready to start his new life now that they are behind bars.
Rikki, originally from Dundee, said: “I was out for a works night out. There was four of us went to The Loft and I was a bit worse for wear, so I went out for some fresh air.”
Outside The Auld Hoose, a short walk away from the nightclub, the convicted thugs and another person began arguing with Rikki over a cigarette before flashing a knife at him.
The group then surrounded him as he tried to escape.
He said: “I felt a blow to my eye and the light just went out instantly. I knew at that point I’d been blinded.
“My eye had swollen up and pulled away from the optic nerve, and once it’s damaged it’s irreparable – once it’s gone, it’s gone. I knew that my sight was going to be gone. It was devastating.
“The next thing I remember, I was sitting on the ground looking up at Ruben after the other two had run off. He kicked me while I was on the ground and took off.”
Passerby Kenny McCulley stopped to call an ambulance, and his quick thinking has been credited as lifesaving by Rikki.
“I could feel the blood pouring down – I’d never seen so much in my life. I took my t-shirt off to mop it up and saw the puncture wounds in my stomach and realised I’d been stabbed. Because of the adrenaline, you don’t feel it at all.
“I’d phoned an ambulance, and I was sitting at the side of the road in a mess. I was getting weaker and I started asking people walking past for help.
“It was ridiculous. People were laughing at me. I probably only waited for minutes but it felt like hours. Kenny came along and stopped then called for the ambulance again and said this guy is in a real, real state.
“Kenny saved my life as far as I’m concerned. I was a week in hospital. I couldn’t even walk as I’d lost so much blood. I was happy to be alive though and the NHS were awesome.”
Rikki has done everything he can to bounce back, but admits that the trauma has impacted on who he is.
“It’s changed me completely as a person. I’m less trusting and I get nervous when I’m in public. I’m a chatty, happy person, but it’s made me take a step back.
“My two boys and daughter could have lost their dad. My partner Steph has been absolutely amazing every step of the way but there’s only so much they can do.”
Having received his victim’s compensation, Rikki is bouncing back and is preparing to open his own business – a car dealership in Auchterarder – next month.
He added: “Seeing a sentence like that is definitely a victory. I feel safer knowing they’re not on the streets anymore. I lost all my confidence – I hope that will come back now.
“There’s negatives everywhere because it’s a bad thing that happened, but you’ve got to try and be positive and make a life for your self. You have to adapt.”
Fernando Dos Santos, 22 was imprisoned for nine years for attempted murder and Ruben Correia, 24, was sentenced to six years and nine months for his part in the attack.
