Thug in a paint shop
A hardware store hooligan who attacked a shopkeeper with a screwdriver was spared jail.
Abul Khan, 41, repeatedly punched Nahri Mustafa during an argument inside a paint store in Barking, on October 18 last year
Khan then jabbed at Mr Mustafa with a screwdriver but luckily the victim was wearing thick clothing which protected him from serious injury.
He also knocked over 16 tins of paint causing £629 in damage.
Snaresbrook Crown Court heard the pair had previously fallen out about money.
Sentencing Khan, Judge Sheelagh Canavan said: ‘Up until this incident you had been a lawful member of society.
‘I do not know what you were thinking.
‘You are not entitled to behave like an animal in the streets of London.’
She added: ‘If you had made contact with his eye you might have killed him.
‘Whether you meant to or not you might have found yourself with a murder charge.’
Khan, of Melford Avenue, Barking, Essex, admitted assault occasioning actual body harm and property damage.
He was given a 12-week sentence, suspended for two years.
He was also given 200 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay Mr Mustafa £1,879.
