Isha Sesay
A SPANIARD has been sentenced to one year in prison for critically injuring a British holidaymaker in Mallorca.
On June 10, 2017, a British man had his back slashed open on the popular Punta Ballena strip in Magaluf.
Moments before the attack, a drunken brawl had broken out between a group of locals and British tourists.
During the course of the fight, the accused smashed a glass beer bottle against a wall.
He then took advantage of the fact that the Brit was lying on the floor injured and receiving several heavy blows from one of his compatriots.
Using the shattered glass, the Spaniard then jumped on the tourist and ripped open his back using the makeshift weapon.
This caused a wound of approximately 15cm in length which narrowly missed his spine.
The Briton was hospitalised as a result of the incident, described by prosecutors as ‘a near fatality,’ where he required multiple stitches.
The defendant had pled guilty to grievous bodily harm, thus accepting an agreed jail term of one year which was reached after an agreement was made with the victim.
The conviction comes months after the Balearic Government passed the tourism of excesses decree.
The new law serves to stamp out excessive drinking and anti-social behaviour in Playa de Palma, s’Arenal, Magaluf and Sant Antoni in Ibiza.
The zero tolerance approach targeting destinations popular with Brits strictly prohibits promotions of booze, the sale of alcohol in commercial stores after 9.30pm and the act of ‘balconying’.
Bars selling booze after hours could be slapped with crushing fines as well as be forced to close during the high season.
