The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
STABBING VICTIM: ‘IT’S A HORRIBLE JOKE’
Knifeman who pushed in at Subway queue is jailed for 15 months leaving his victim fuming
A dad of two who was stabbed in the shoulder by a man who jumped a queue to order a cookie has labelled his attacker’s 15 month sentence as ‘some sort of horrible joke.’
Rekan Kakarash, (21), stabbed dad of two Tomasz Bator in the shoulder at a branch of Subway after Kakarash tried to jump the queue .
Today Mr Bator (35) said his attacker should have received a much longer sentence.
He said: “It is not long enough. He was carrying a knife. People can be sentenced to five years for carrying a knife. He used it on me. I could have been killed.
“The sentence is like some sort of horrible joke.”
A court heard Kakarash walked into Subway, in Lincoln Road, Peterborough, at just after 9am on July 22 last year and immediately tried to order a cookie, ignoring Mr Bator, who was waiting for a sandwich at the till.
After Tomasz told him to wait his turn, Kakarash headbutted him in the side of the head, while making a stabbing motion with his car keys.
Then Mr Bator stumbled backwards and there was a scuffle before Kakarash pulled
the lock-knife from his pocket. A further struggle ensued and Kakarash stabbed Mr Bator in the shoulder.
Thankfully, he did not suffer serious injuries, and he was able to hold Kakarash on the floor while police were called.
Mr Bator, who works across the road from the shop ‘helping people with their accounts’, said: “I had to kneel on his hand to stop him stabbing me again.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen. I was thinking
about my wife and children, thinking I might wake up in hospital - or even worse.
“I lost a lot of blood that day. It was horrible.
“I was lying on the floor in a pool of blood begging for help. Customers came in and ordered sandwiches and I was begging for them to call the police.
“I didn’t think about what I was doing to stop him. It was just reflex.”
Kakarash, of Allexton Gardens, Peterborough, pleaded guilty to causing grievous body harm and possessing a
knife in a public place, and was given the 15 month jail term at Cambridge Crown Court this week.
Following the hearing, North West Cambridgeshire MP Shailesh Vara, who previously has held a role at The Ministry of Justice, said he believed criminals should ‘feel the full force of the law’ when they are sentenced.
He said: “I firmly believe that when an offence has been committed, unless there are genuine reasons for mitigation, then the full force of the law should apply. This is par-
ticularly important given that often criminals are released early and therefore do not actually serve the full sentence imposed by the court.”
Detective Sergeant Thomas Power warned others of the dangers of carrying knives in public. He said: “Kakarash was simply told to do the polite thing and wait to make his order but responded with violence.
“Using a knife can have fatal consequences. Fortunately, on this occasion, the victim was taken to hospital but did not have serious injuries.”