Drunk man cuts cousin over rum

A man will have to compensate his cousin $40,000 after he admitted to cutting him on his face with a knife because he was denied a drink of rum.

"I was intoxicated," explained Dane Hart, after pleading guilty to unlawful wounding in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Thursday.

It was shared that Hart and his cousin, the complainant, were patrons at a bar in their community of Red Light district in rural St Andrew. The court heard that Hart asked his cousin to purchase rum for him to "top up on his 'special'".

The complainant refused Hart's request and Hart used his ratchet knife to inflict a wound to the complainant's face.

Senior Parish Judge Lori-Anne Cole-Montaque was not amused by the allegations.

"You see the effect that it [drinking] can have? You can lose the effect of your consciousness. I tell people all the time that the strongest thing I drink is soda," she remarked.

The complainant indicated his interest in being compensated for his doctor's bill, medication and missing days from work. The total figure is said to be $40,000.

Hart made the first payment of $16,000 in court and is to return on February 29, when the remaining funds are to be paid. Sentencing has been postponed until then.