An employee of a car wash in Cowley has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for fracturing a colleague’s jaw during an argument about a vacuum cleaner.
Hemin Poor, from Kurdistan, was unanimously convicted of a single count of inflicting grievous bodily harm on Alexander Abraham at UK Direct valeting, otherwise known as The Swan car wash.
During the trial, Oxford Crown Court heard how Poor punched Eritrea-native Abraham twice in the face and then pinned him to the floor after Abraham refused to hand over a vacuum cleaner.
Afterwards, Poor left the victim and continued about his work at the car wash on Towns Road.
Abraham, who eventually lost consciousness and endured “severe pain”, had to undergo surgery to have a metal plate and screws fixed to mend his broken jaw.
He told the court that the attack left him feeling “shocked” and unable to defend himself. The victim also alleged that when he tried to dial 999, Poor gestured to him and threatened to harm him further if he informed anyone of the ordeal.
The incident occurred on April 18 last year, after a customer had instructed Poor not to clean the interior of their car.
Poor, of Cottesmore Road in Oxford, claimed he acted in self-defence as Abraham was holding him in a headlock.
According to the Oxford Mail, he said, “No I didn’t hit him, I only used the palm of my hand to push his lip. I don’t know what happened after because I left quickly because he had the sharp head of the hoover in his hand.”
