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The injured party told the court that when she tried to grab the hat back the defendant refused to give the hat back unless he got a kiss.

“As I grabbed it he grabbed me by the thigh, ripped my dress and I fell to my knees,” she said.
“I got up and I was bruised and really upset. It was a new dress. I was crying. I told him, ‘You’re a great man pulling me to the ground for a Santa hat.’

“He started to call me names.  I told him I was going to tell security. He followed me and I threw my drink at him. Then he punched me and I blacked out.

“I banged the back of the staircase and had bruises on the back of my head, bum and eye. I was disorientated as I wear glasses, but contact lenses when I go out.”

The defendant denied in court that he punched the victim but admitted that he pushed her after he felt something hit the back of his neck.

The injured party admitted that when the defendant called her a tramp, she threw her glass at him. Security was then called to the scene and the defendant was asked to leave.

He told the court that he left the premises but had a red mark at the back of his head which the owner of the bar witnessed.

“I’ve never punched a woman in my life,” he said. “When I pushed her she banged her head unless she hit her eye off the stairs. I did not punch her.”

Judge Desmond Zaidan said the assault came about over a trivial black Santa hat that got out of control.

“I’ve no doubt he punched her,” he said. “She suffered a black eye as a result of his actions. She wouldn’t give him a kiss so he was going to keep the hat. He has shown no remorse.”
He was given 90 days to pay the fine.
- Leinster Leader

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Nster.com