A DUNFERMLINE man flooded his ex-wife’s home in the middle of the night when he entered her house and saw a motorcycle helmet belonging to her boyfriend.
John Clark, 48, of Beatty Place, also ransacked her cupboards and freezer and stole two helmets. He appeared in the dock for sentencing at Dunfermline Sheriff Court last week.
Clark previously admitted that on June 29 at an address in Dunfermline, he did maliciously unscrew a sink drainage fitting, turn on a tap and leave the tap running, causing the kitchen and living room to flood and causing damage to the floor coverings and household items.
He also admitted that he stole two motorcycle helmets and did behave in a threatening or abusive manner which was likely to cause a reasonable person fear or alarm in that he did enter the premises of his former partner, uninvited, and search through the cupboards and freezer.
Depute fiscal Azrah Yousaf explained that Clark and his ex-wife have been separated for nine years and have five children together.
“One child came back home at about 11.30pm and the complainer wanted to go bed at that time, but she hadn’t seen her daughter come in so she left the patio door open,” Ms. Yousaf said.
“The accused had been consuming alcohol for most of the day and had sent a message to his ex-wife about her new boyfriend, who has a motorcycle.
“At 2.30am the accused entered the house and saw two motorcycle helmets and this angered him.
“He tampered with the sink’s drainage fitting, loosened the u-bend and left on the taps.
“When they woke the next morning, they found that the kitchen and living room were under water and the helmets had been taken.
“Nothing else had been taken and the complainer immediately thought it was the accused.”
The depute fiscal said the cost of the damage was £400 and the property was owned by Kingdom Housing. The cost of the motorbike helmets were $140 each.
Defense solicitor James Moncrieff said: “Mr. Clark has been going through a difficult time in his personal life. He is dealing with mental health issues and has been consuming up to a bottle of vodka a day.
“He does not remember a lot of the incident but he normally has a good relationship with his former partner.
“However, his circumstances had deteriorated and he had asked her for help.
“He is not someone with an extensive record and he’s now getting help with his mental health difficulties. He’s supported by his mother.”
Sheriff Craig McSherry deferred sentencing for three months for good behavior and to allow the prosecution and defense to calculate exactly the cost of the damage.
