Jail for man who killed with one punch after row over pool game

An attacker who killed a man with a single punch after a game of pool in a bar has been jailed for more than five years.

Thomas Allan, 52, assaulted Jason Haig at a pub in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, on September 2 last year.

He punched Mr Haig, 45, who fell backwards and hit his head on the hard floor.

Mr Haig suffered injuries including a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain.

He died of severe brain damage on September 10 at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

Allan, from Glasgow, pleaded guilty to a charge of culpable homicide at the High Court in Glasgow on December 17 last year.

He was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday to five years and four months behind bars, the Crown Office said.

The two men had been playing pool together in the bar for about 20 minutes when there appeared to be a disagreement, the prosecution service said.

Allan approached Mr Haig, while holding his pool cue in his right hand, spoke to him for a few seconds, then struck him on the face once with his left hand and Mr Haig fell backwards.

David Green, procurator fiscal for homicide and major crime, said: “A single punch has had catastrophic consequences.

“This type of attack is just as lethal as an assault with a weapon.

“Any instance of a punch to the head can have the kind of ramifications that we have tragically seen with this case.

“The unintended consequences of Thomas Allan’s actions should serve as a stark warning that one punch can kill.”