French tourist in Scotland convicted of hitting son

A French tourist was yesterday found guilty of punching and kicking his son outside a restaurant during a family trip to Scotland.

A French tourist was yesterday found guilty of punching and kicking his son outside a restaurant during a family trip to Scotland.

The 33-year-old, who cannot be named, was convicted at Edinburgh Sheriff Court of assaulting the eight-year-old but was found not guilty of causing the child injury. Witnesses described the incident outside an Indian restaurant in Edinburgh on September 22 last year as a "vicious assault".

The man escaped a fine or prison sentence after he was admonished by Sheriff Poole, who said she had taken into account that there was no history of abuse in his family.

After the verdict was given the accused's wife burst into tears and rushed from the court. Outside, the accused, a factory worker from Ons-en-Bray, Oise, was furiousand reacted with incredulity. "I feel completely humiliated," he said. "The trial was unfair and now I have this on my police record. I'm condemned."

He did not rule out an appeal and said that he had already written to the French President to complain about his treatment by the British justice system.

Bernadette Gallagher, 40, and her husband Kevin, 49, witnessed the assault in an alley outside the restaurant. Mrs Gallagher, a teacher, from Lanarkshire, told the court: "The boy was crumpling and lying in a foetal position. He was whimpering like a wounded animal."

But the accused claimed he smacked the child only once on the bottom after he misbehaved in the restaurant. The accused's son and wife also defended him from the charge.

The child had begun "screaming and having a tantrum" and swearing after he refused to swap seats with another boy, the father told the court. The man accused a group of diners, who cheered when he was arrested by two police officers and led outside, of "racial discrimination".

The case has attracted widespread interest in France, and people in the family's home town have rallied around them. The deputy mayor, Jan Hoornweg, who was in court for the verdict, reacted angrily and said the family had sought psychiatric counselling as a result of the case. Natalie Revenu, 35, a journalist with Le Parisien, said: "The French people feel there is an element of racism in this case from the Scottish."

The accused's 30-year-old wife broke down in tears as she gave evidence to the court yesterday and said: "It's unfair that they put my husband in jail for a slap on the bottom. It should never have happened."

The case follows proposals unveiled last year to outlaw the smacking of children under the age of three in Scotland. (AP)