Drunk, he pulls out a knife in a brawl in Monaco
The incident took place near the Casino supermarket - © Pixabay
The knife was “as long as a forearm.”
The evening didn’t end well for these two young people in their twenties, who had no prior brushes with the law… One, a 22-year-old former receptionist with the SBM group, was charged with “Violence or assault with a weapon resulting in a TIW (Temporary Incapacity for Work), while intoxicated” and “Carrying and transporting a category C weapon”. The other, a 24-year-old apprentice labourer, was charged with “Violence resulting in a TIW of 8 days or less, in a state of obvious intoxication.”
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The two young men, both defendants and victims, were summoned to appear before the magistrates’ court on Tuesday 14 November, on charges that date back to June. Although there has been water under the bridge in the intervening months and there was no evidence of animosity at the hearing, the altercation was particularly violent. After an insult from the younger man, tempers flared between the two drunken strangers, who had barely crossed paths. The older man landed a punch, and just as things seemed to have calmed down, his adversary came back, now with a knife in his hand.
One of the defendants “disfigured”
“You got back into your car, but when you saw the blood on your face, you decided to go back, armed with a kitchen knife with a 10-centimetre blade,” said the court president, asking “Why was this knife in your car?” The defendant replied “A month before we had a barbecue with my family. You have to realise that I was disfigured, I’ve never been in such a state. Plus, when he hit me, he broke my car’s rear-view mirror and windscreen.”
The other young man admitted “I shouldn’t have struck the first blow because of what was said, and I apologised immediately afterwards. We even shook hands. His friend, who was there at the time, took the knife and notified the police.” An honest act that was appreciated by the public prosecutor. “Both are responsible, nevertheless, and producing the knife was a totally excessive gesture. There could have been a fatality.” The public prosecutor asked for a four-month suspended sentence for each of them.
Suspended prison sentence
The knife attacker’s lawyer took the floor: “I blame my client for his lack of maturity in returning to the scene. One cannot take the law into one’s own hands. But I sincerely believe that he had no intention of using the knife. He never pointed it at him. You should also be aware that when SBM heard about the case, his contract was not renewed. I ask you to show the utmost clemency.” In terms of damages, €25,000 were claimed for emotional distress, plus €1,200 for repairs to the car.
“None of this would have happened if it hadn’t been for the alcohol,” argued the opposing lawyer, considering it was not an act of self-defence, but of revenge. “This man came back with a knife and that is the only thing I feel is relatively serious. And he wasn’t pointing the knife because he was hiding it! ” As for the claims for damages, the Monaco defense lawyer exclaimed : “Where are we? San Francisco? 25,000 euros for a punch is excessive. I would ask you to consider a fairer amount. We are asking for €5,000.”
While both young men were found guilty by the court, the armed defendant was given an eight-month suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay €1,000 in damages. The other man was given a three-month suspended sentence, and ordered to pay 500 euros.