A glazing firm boss punched a veteran employee to the floor after accusing him of dishonestly swindling fuel, a court heard today.
Binger arriving at Chichester Crown Court
Glazier Rory Binger, 46, owner of Banstead Glass & Glazing Services, continued pummelling the grandfather as he curled up in an attempt to defend himself.
At Chichester Crown Court he was fined £1,000, with £500 costs and ordered to pay £500 compensation to victim Ian Brown.
Binger, of Outwood Lane, Chipstead pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Brown, causing him actual bodily harm, on October 3, last year at the Epsom location.
“There was a dispute and this defendant accused Mr Brown of stealing fuel and confronted him about the theft,” prosecutor Mr Dan Santos Costa told the court.
“This resulted in an argument and Mr Brown pushed Binger away and the defendant responded by punching him twice to the head, causing him to fall to the floor.
“The fight continued on the floor and was recorded on CCTV and the prosecution case is that Binger continued punching Mr Brown.
“Binger also pushed away a witness that tried to intervene and he continued punching Mr Brown.
“Mr Brown was curled up in the foetal position and was quite defenceless at the time.
“He suffered no breaks or fractures, but Mr Brown received two fairly thick black eyes and swelling around his eyes.”
Binger always described his actions as “excessive self-defence” after Mr Brown became physical during the row.
In his victim impact statement Mr Brown - who suffers chronic obstructive airways disease - confirmed that he has known Binger for thirty years and considered him a friend.
He has now been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and has signed-off work with disability for three years.
A particularly stressful consequence of the assault was the reluctance of Mr Brown’s grandchild to come near him due to the bruising and swelling to his face.
“Mr Binger acted entirely out of character,” said Lyle Thompson, defending.
Recorder John Hardy KC told Binger: “It is always sad to see a man before the Crown Court who is a hard-working family man, running his own business and generally speaking is a decent member of society.
“On that day you had a dispute with Mr Brown and whether that was justified or not is nothing to the point, but the red mist descended and you punched him to the ground and continued punching.”
