Man denies scissor attack

A HOBART taxi driver was at home during a break in his shift when he was stabbed in the back of the head with a pair of scissors by a man he had sold a car to several weeks earlier, a court has heard.

The man accused of the wounding, Mishal Almishalawy, 35, has pleaded not guilty to the charge and is arguing he was not at the taxi driver’s West Moonah home, and that he was being blamed for the attack because the taxi driver was unhappy about his relationship with a woman. Mr Almishalawy’s trial started in the Supreme Court in Hobart yesterday. His alleged victim, Ahsan Ali Shigri, who now lives in Victoria, told the court he was at home on the evening of October 3, 2015, and found Mr Almishalawy drinking tea with a mutual friend.

Mr Shigri said he and Mr Almishalawy had argued several weeks earlier about a car Mr Almishalawy had bought from Mr Shigri but wanted to return a few days later — a request Mr Shigri refused.

He told the court he asked Mr Almishalawy to leave his house when he saw him there on October 3. He said insults were exchanged before a scuffle broke out and Mr Almishalawy broke his nose and stabbed him in the back of the head with a pair of scissors.

“He just wanted to attack … me,” Mr Shigri said.

Mr Almishalawy’s lawyer Todd Kovacic suggested to Mr Shigri that Mr Almishalawy had never been to Mr Shigri’s home and Mr Shigri had never sold him a car. Mr Shigri disagreed. The trial, before Justice Gregory Geason, continues.