Jail-time for farmhands after “sustained attack”

Wednesday 30 August 2017

Two farmhands who beat up their colleague at a farm in St Ouen have both been sentenced to six months in prison.

Presiding, Magistrate Bridget Shaw sentenced 19-year-old Janusz Laczynski and 20-year-old Kamil Biernacki to six months in prison after the pair repeatedly punched their co-worker in his own bed at a farm in St Ouen.

The grave and criminal assault, which took place on 15 July of this year, caused the victim to sustain bruising across his body and multiple lacerations to the face and head.

Although Advocate David Cadin, appearing for Mr Laczynski and Advocate James Bell, appearing for Mr Biernacki, made cases for a binding over order to leave the island, Mrs Shaw said that she deemed the incident “too serious to be dealt with by a binding over order.”

Advocate Bell said that Mr Biernacki “very much regrets becoming involved in this incident” and submitted that the “gruelling regime” of work at the farm in combination with the fact that the older workers allegedly “bullied, ridiculed and verbally abused” him led to this attack.

Although Mrs Shaw took into consideration the mitigating circumstances of the case, including the fact that both Mr Laczynski and Mr Biernacki were 19-years-old at the time of the incident, she deemed this assault as a “sustained attack”.

Addressing the two men, Mrs Shaw said: “The two of you beat up one man and you beat him up extensively. There was blood spattered on the wall and multiple bruisings and swellings particularly around the head which is a vulnerable part of the body.” 

Mrs Shaw added: “This offence is so serious that a non-custodial sentence cannot be justified.”

Before handing down the six-month custodial sentence, Mrs Shaw said: “If I was sentencing an adult, I would be looking at the upper end of this court’s sentencing powers.”

Mrs Shaw also said that she would be recommending to the Lieutenant Governor that both Mr Laczynski and Mr Biernacki should be deported to their native Poland after they have served their sentences.