A Fife man who posted sick comments on Facebook about British soldiers dying in Afghanistan was reported to police by a woman whose soldier son died in the country.
At Cupar Sheriff Court on Thursday, Paul Muir, 33, of Norman View, Leuchars, admitted that on or between March 1 2012 and March 28 2012 he behaved in a disorderly manner and committed a breach of the peace by posting various offensive remarks online, such as: “Got to love the Afghans blowing the English up left, right and centre … hahaha.”
The court heard Muir’s posts were seen by a woman in Sussex, whose son had recently been killed in Afghanistan.
His comments upset her so much she contacted police, who then tracked down Muir at his home.
Defence solicitor Gemma Miller said Muir had been angry and hungover when he posted the comments but had immediately apologised and removed them.
His apology read: “Sorry for the sick comments I made when I was drunk. I have family in the forces and wish no harm…”
Ms Miller said Muir, the son of an RAF serviceman, had since been shunned by his community, lost friends and become reclusive and had even had death threats.
“An apology was posted 20 minutes later but the comments had been captured in a screengrab and circulated,” she added.
At an earlier hearing, Sheriff Charles Macnair deferred sentence on Muir for six months for good behaviour.
But yesterday Sheriff Mhairi MacTaggart described the offence as a “serious matter” and fined Muir £350.
Addressing Muir directly, she said: “The comments you made could be very offensive to certain people but the apology you posted was well-framed and came across as sincere.”