Algerian man Jailed for 'Act of Vengeance' Stabbing After Row Over Spilt Oil
An Algerian man who stabbed an acquaintance in the back and chest following a dispute over spilt cooking oil in shared accommodation has been jailed for three years.
Housseyn Chaoui (30), of Rathmines Road, Rathmines, got into a disagreement with another man in his shared Dublin home after some oil was spilled, prompting a brief physical row that was broken up by others present.
When the victim walked out to the garden a few minutes later, Chaoui came up behind him and stabbed him in the chest and back with a small knife, leaving two wounds. The victim was taken to hospital, where he was kept in for three days for treatment.
Chaoui was arrested a short time later and pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing harm at the address on March 9 last year — an offence that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years, prosecuting counsel George Burns BL told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Chaoui, who is originally from Algeria, has nine previous convictions, including threatening and abusive behaviour and damaging property. The court heard he was previously the victim of a serious assault in Dublin, which has left him with severe memory loss and epilepsy.
The attack occurred during Ramadan, when everyone in the house had been fasting since dawn, which caused "a considerable amount of irritability", Judge Martin Nolan said while passing sentence on Friday.
The judge took into account Chaoui's guilty plea and his remorse, which he accepted as "true remorse". The court heard Chaoui has been in custody since the offence but has no family here and very little English, making his time in custody more difficult, defence counsel Joe Mulrean BL told the court.
Judge Nolan said Chaoui was carrying out an "act of vengeance" when he attacked the other man, noting: "It is a serious assault when you attack another person with a knife."
He set a headline sentence of six years, which he reduced to three years, taking mitigation into account. The sentence was backdated to when Chaoui went into custody on the date of the assault.