Man (53) threw hot tea at a nurse in Craigavon and hit another nurse on the head and thigh, a court hears

Dilara Rostami, aged 53, from University Street, Belfast appeared at Craigavon Magistrates Court on Friday charged with two counts of common assault.

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The court heard that on July 4th 2022 police were tasked to reports of an assault at the Silverwood Ward in Bluestone Unit at Craigavon Hospital.

A Prosecutor said: "Both injured parties alleged they were working in the ward when a male patient became aggressive with them both over food that had been supplied to him. Staff alleged that the defendant threw hot tea at one of the staff members and then punched another staff member to the head and then struck her leg.

"Both nurses stated they were in a lot of fear due to his aggression and they had to leave work early because of their injuries.”

One of the nurses said she had felt, from the start of her shift, aggression from Rostami who threw a toilet roll at her initially. He then shouted and threw hot tea at her.

“He was making his way towards her when he slipped on the hot tea. The hot tea hit her on the back of the head. No injuries were caused but she felt shock. She has serious fear. She ran away from the defendant at that point.

"No physical injuries but was stressed, frightened, anxious and had received a sick line from her doctor because of it,” said the Prosecutor.

The other nurse had noted the defendant was ‘angry’ when she started her shift. “He struck her on the back of the head and the upper left thigh when she was in the process of running away from him. She had to lock herself in a room.

"She was shocked and exhausted. Her vision was dizzy and blurred and she had symptoms of concussion. The doctor stated she had damage to the muscle fibres of her leg. She had to get her father to collect her that evening,” said the Prosecutor.

Rostami’s barrister Mr Conor Coulter said he had to concede that his client’s behaviour was “appalling given the environment in which it occurred”.

“He has attended with Probation albeit it’s not an overly impressive report, it does provide some details of the difficulties in his background. He is a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic and is currently medicated in respect of that,” said Mr Coulter.

"In terms of the offence itself, there is very little positive can be said in relation to Mr Rostami. He has very complex needs and those are acknowledged in the Pre-Sentence Report.

"While he is deemed suitable for Probation there are significant and realistic concerns on behalf of Probation whether he can complete that Order,” said Mr Coulter, suggesting to the District Judge that he might consider leaving something hanging over his head such as a suspended sentence.

District Judge Michael Ranaghan said: “This is an assault on two nurses while they were at work and attending to you. They are very much aggravating features in their own right.”

He sentenced Rostami to five months in prison suspended for 18 months on each of the charges to run concurrently.