Former Douglas Laing whisky firm director accused of verbal and physical domestic abuse

A former managing director of a Scottish whisky company allegedly wished his wife dead as he did not like his TikTok water bottle birthday present.

Christopher Leggat, 44, is on trial at Glasgow Sheriff Court accused of verbal and physical abuse towards the woman.

Leggat was the ex-managing director of Douglas Laing & Co, based in the city’s Hillington.

Leggat faces a string of allegations, which include slapping his estranged wife while walking home from an Old Firm game.

He is further stated to have hit her on the forehead and pushed her into a kitchen cabinet at their home in the city’s Pollokshields.

Leggat is also claimed to have kept tabs on her location by using an electronic device.

The woman told the court that Leggat called her names and tried to stop her from seeing her family.

Leggat pleaded not guilty to engaging in a course of behaviour which was abusive to his partner or ex-partner.

The charge spans between September 2022 and November 2024.

The court heard that the couple were married in 2013 and worked together at the firm.

The woman recalled that in October 2022, she had made sausage casserole for the pair.

She claimed that Leggat told her to serve a “better-looking meal” and called her names.

She then stated that the next incident took place in January 2023 as a result of Leggat’s birthday plans.

She said: “He was most aggrieved and disappointed at a lack of effort to mark his birthday in terms of a meal out.

“He also didn’t rate his presents, which included a sports water bottle that I bought him.”

The water bottle – said to have been made famous on TikTok – was allegedly deemed “childish and ridiculous” by Leggat.

Leggat is then alleged to have told the woman: “I hope you die in your sleep.”

The witness added that Leggat apologised to her for the remark and claimed it was “a bit of banter.”

The pair were given hospitality tickets to Hampden Park in February 2023 for an Old Firm League Cup Final clash.

The woman stated that when they walked home after the match and she was pushed into a bush by Leggat

She said: “I ended up in a bush or my back against a bush as a result of the force as a result of the slap to my face.”

When asked how she felt about the incident, the woman replied that it was “upsetting.”

She told the court that a notification appeared on her phone in March 2024 regarding an Apple AirTag tracking device.

The witness stated that Leggat told her at the time that he had “no knowledge of it.”

However, Leggat’s position to the court is that it was put in the family car.

The woman also accused Leggat of “discouraging” her to see her parents, which also included a curfew that made her “twitch” when it was close.

She claimed that the last occasion Leggat became violent towards her was in November 2024 at the family home.

She stated that Leggat slapped her on the forehead and pushed her into a kitchen cabinet, which resulted in a thigh injury.

The court heard that she called her father, who attended their home, and the police were called.

Leggat, now of Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire, told the court in his evidence that he left the company in 2023 and stated that he did not complain about his birthday plans and refuted allegations that he told the woman that he wanted her to die.

Leggat also denied slapping the woman after the Old Firm game but accepted that he may have caught her on the chin or chest while expressing himself in conversation.

He said: “She did not fall into a bush – we were walking beside a bush.”

Leggat further stated that the woman was aware of AirTags as they had discussed the devices with her.

Leggat claimed that she “prodded” him ten times before her father arrived at their home in November 2024.

He stated that he did not grab his wife and push her against the kitchen cabinet.

The trial continues tomorrow before Sheriff Allan McKay.