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Nwicker60
05-Mar-13, 08:52
Seaman banned from Scrabster diner for two years and fined £1000 at Wick court

A RUSSIAN seaman has been fined £1000 for a knife incident at a north port , at the weekend.
Dmitry Kolesnik, 34, was holding the cutlery knife when he shouted at a woman at the Ferry Inn, at Scrabster, Wick Sheriff Court heard yesterday.
The chief officer appeared from custody and admitted through an interpreter, threatening or abusive behaviour while his Norwegian ship the MV Wilson Bremen As Bradbenken, was berthed in the port, on Friday night.
The court was told that the father-of-two had gone for a drink with his captain after the ship docked on Friday night.
David Barclay, prosecuting, said that the woman, Iona Smith, wasn’t known to the accused who was under the influence of drink.
He continued: “He was shouting in his native language so she really didn’t know what was being said. However, despite that, she found the episode distressing, particularly as she noted the accused was holding a knife at the time.”
Mr Barclay indicated that the cutlery knife had come from one of the tables where people were dining.
Solicitor Jo McDonald said that the barman had earlier had occasion to speak to Kolesnik about his behaviour and the accused took the view that he was being checked because he was Russian.
She added: “He accepts he started shouting and behaving in an aggressive manner towards the lady”.
Ms McDonald accepted that it would be “highly unusual” for Sheriff Andrew Berry to pass sentence immediately, without continuing the case, but made the point that the accused’s ship was due to sail, that evening or this morning.
She added: “I have explained to my client that it is a very serious matter and the court might take some persuading to deal with it today. He has a credit card and could pay a fine.”
Sheriff Berry agreed that the matter was not a straight-forward one and that in most such cases an accused would be remanded for reports.
However, taking into account the whole circumstances and the fact that Kolesnik, who earns $4,500 dollars a month, was an essential member of the crew, the sheriff said he would impose a fine. Kolesnik was also banned from the ferry in for two years.
The accused’s address was listed as that of his employer PO Box 4145 Sandviken 5835 Bergen.