Jordan Duncan and Stephen Fairservice attacked the 17 year old and left him with a broken jaw. The incident took place on the 4th of May 2018. 

Both are first time offenders and pled guilty to assaulting the boy to his severe injury, disfigurement and the danger of his life at Lanark railway station. However, Lord Beckett admonished them both. In doing so, he referred to a number of factors including the ‘high level of provocation’ after the complainant had initially used a sword injuring one of the boys. 

Both Duncan and Fairservice were 15 years old at the time of the incident and had been with the boy that night. After an argument, the complainer left but later confronted the two boys. Prosecutor Mar Mohammed stated that he had a samurai sword hidden down the inside of his trousers. He struck Fairservice on the foot with the sword. He was chased by Duncan, Fairservice and others onto the train station platform.

The court heard that: “The group – including both Duncan and Fairservice – repeatedly punched and kicked him on the body, knocking him to the ground. Fairservice jumped onto the railway line – next to the buffers – and dragged the boy onto there. Duncan remained on the platform and assisted with the dragging before walking away in possession of the sword.”

The complainer was described as bleeding, conscious but not moving. He was assisted by another boy back to the platform and emergency services were contacted. 

At sentencing Lord Beckett acknowledged that this type of offending would often result in a custodial sentence. However, the judge referred to the level of provocation, the fact they were both 15 at the time and that they had to wait four years for the case to be resolved. 

He concluded: “I am going to admonish you. There will be no further punishment. This is the end of the line. You are free to leave.”