Racist thug battered Pole with bar while in jail for 'mop attack'

STV

A racist thug battered a Polish prisoner over the head with a 10kg weightlifting bar - while in jail for trying to kill another Polish immigrant.

Keith Porter had just been convicted of kicking a three foot pole inside a Polish cleaner and penetrating his chest cavity just days before trying to kill his next Polish victim in prison.

The High Court in Inverness heard this week that 22-year-old Porter had been remanded in custody awaiting sentence when he attacked Daniel Kaizer, 28, in the gym at Craiginches Prison on December 4 last year.

Porter swung the bar “like a baseball bat” at Mr Kaizer’s head a week after the pair had clashed over the use of a piece of gym equipment.

Speaking through an interpreter Mr Kaizer said: "He said something like, 'hurry up'. I told him, 'I am sorry, I will be finished in five minutes'.

"He told me, 'I will finish with you'. I asked him why he had a problem with me. He said something like 'your Polish f***** face'.

"I was in shock. He said, 'after the gym I will smash your face'."

Porter was found guilty of attempted murder by striking him on the head with a metal bar to his severe injury, permanent disfigurement and danger of his life and that the attack was racially aggravated.

BACKGROUND

During the trial Mr Kaizer told the court: "I think that the attack is because I am not Scottish, and from Poland. I think it was racial.

"I just did not understand why someone would want to kill me.."

During the case, co-accused Stewart was found guilty of assaulting another Polish inmate, Lukasz Rusek, on the same date at the prison gym by punching him on the head to his injury.

Advocate depute Andrew Bowen told Lord Woolman of Porter's history of previous convictions which included a racially motivated assault in 2005, and two other more serious offences of assault to sever injury.

However it was the attempted murder conviction in November last year which prompted Mr Bowden to seek a risk assessment order on Mr Porter because, he said, "of the pattern of offending which posed a serious risk to the public."

Sentence on Porter was deferred until September 1 at Edinburgh High Court after Lord Woolman agreed to have a risk assessment order carried out due to his previous attempted murder conviction in November last year.

He told Porter: "It is extremely troubling that you have been convicted on a second charge of attempted murder in such a short period. It is entirely appropriate that a risk assessment should be sought before deciding what the proper disposal should be."

Just a week after the attacks in the gym, Porter and Stewart appeared at the High Court to be sentenced for the attack on cleaner Jaroslaw Janeczek in an Aberdeen street.

Porter was jailed for nine years and four months. Stewart was jailed for three years and three months.

An accusation that the attack on Mr Janeczek was racially motivated was deleted from the libel.

The court heard Mr Janeczek was going into his car to get his house keys when Porter approached and suddenly started punching him. Stewart then appeared and initially tried to pull Porter away.

However Porter claimed Mr Janeczek had earlier kicked his dog, and Stewart then joined in on the assault.

Porter continued punching and stamping on the victim causing him to fall across his car seat.

Stewart struck Mr Janeczek with a car door and also landed several blows and kicks to his body.

Porter then grabbed items such as a mop and brushes from the boot of the cleaner's vehicle.

The victim required extensive eight hour surgery, and Mr Brodie told the court: "It was concluded that without surgical intervention, he would have died."