The affair had escalated from a simple catsitting favour to charges of assault and battery. Starting rather simply, the affair concerns events from June 2017. The couple owning the cat in question were going away for the weekend and gave an acquaintance a key to go feed their cat on Saturday and Monday.
The acquaintance only remembered to go feed the cat late on Monday and brought her boyfriend to accompany her. However, the couple had already returned and had gone to bed. They woke up when they heard someone open the door. The acquaintance had yelled that it was her and her boyfriend, but the assailant had already rushed out of bed and punched the boyfriend in the face, alongside kicking him in the chest.
The victim was taken to hospital, where it was found he had broken some bones and had a serious facial injury requiring an operation. The victim had appealed for damages of €61,000 in both trials. The court has designated an expert to calculate the damages experienced by the victim by June 2020.
Both the defence lawyer and the prosecutor had requested the acquittal of the assailant in the second trial, but ultimately the judges still found the man guilty and confirmed the €250 fine sentenced initially.
