Belfast man who spat at doctor jailed for six months

Anthony McMullan was sentenced at Belfast Crown Court

A Belfast man who spat on a doctor who was treating him in hospital has been handed a six-month prison sentence.

Jailing Anthony McMullan, 32, the judge told him it was a "disgusting act".

McMullan, of University Street in the city, appeared at Belfast Crown Court where he was sentenced for seven offences from 25 to 26 May of this year.

The prosecution lawyer said that about 20:00 GMT on 25 May, a man who lived in the same apartment block as McMullan heard noises from an upstairs flat.

This neighbour was aware that the noises were not being made by the woman who lived there.

McMullan was present in the flat and when challenged, he became aggressive.

The lawyer said that McMullan then threw an item at the rear window of the male neighbour's flat which caused it to shatter.

When the woman came back to her flat, there were signs of a disturbance, items of food were missing and a glass had been smashed on her floor.

The lawyer told the judge that whilst it was accepted all three neighbours knew each other and frequented each other's apartments, on this occasion the female occupant was not present and McMullan came into her flat "without permission".

Police and ambulance called

Police called at McMullan's apartment about midnight where they found his front door was unlocked.

The prosecutor said that after officers gained entry, they found an "unresponsive" McMullan lying in his bed.

Officers also found pasta, noodles and sauce which McMullan had taken from his female neighbour's flat.

McMullan was woken up, and due to his intoxicated condition, an ambulance was called.

Spitting incident

While on the way to the Royal Victoria Hospital, McMullan became verbally abusive to the police officers and kicked out at a female constable.

After arriving at the hospital, McMullan's aggressive behaviour continued and he became resistant to officers as they tried to restrain him.

He then spat on a doctor who was treating him, with the saliva landing on the doctor's right wrist.

The lawyer said: "The doctor was concerned about the level of noise and disturbance and was concerned about the well-being of other patients having to hear and witness this."

McMullan - who has 103 previous convictions - pleaded guilty to assaulting the doctor, assaulting a police officer and to two counts of resisting arrest.

He also admitted one count of burglary and two counts of criminal damage.

'Little recognition'

His defence barrister said that due to McMullan's intoxication, he has "very little recollection" of what happened in May.

The barrister said that, despite this, when interviewed by police and asked about spitting on the doctor, McMullan said, "if I did that I was totally wrong".

The lawyer said "thankfully" the spitting incident did not result in the doctor being absent from his duties but said the medic "had to deal with the defendant in a way that he shouldn't have had to".

He added that McMullan entered guilty pleas at an early stage and has expressed remorse for what he did.

After listening to submissions from both the Crown and defence, the judge told McMullan that spitting on a doctor who was tending to him was a "disgusting act".

He said McMullan's criminal record as "formidable".