A court in Tongeren sentenced a 44-year-old man from Maaseik, Limburg province, to six years in prison on Wednesday for attacking his hairdresser with a samurai sword. The court ruled that the man intended to kill the victim.
The man stormed into a hairdressing salon in Neeroeteren on 5 January carrying a sword. He suspected his hairdresser of wanting to start a relationship with his girlfriend.
Two days later, the man got into an argument with his girlfriend and her father. Afterwards, he went to a café where he consumed alcohol and drugs.
Whilst intoxicated, the man returned to the salon, where he attempted to attack the hairdresser with his sword. The hairdresser managed to flee, but the attacker subsequently pinned him to the ground. Several witnesses saw him hold the blade to his victim’s throat.
With the help of passers-by, the hairdresser freed himself and sought refuge in the home of an estate agent. The man attacked the victim's car before being apprehended by the police.
In court, the defendant explained that he had lost all control due to his consumption of drugs and alcohol.
"That, and the message he’d sent to my girlfriend in which he wrote that he wanted to sleep with her. But I never intended to kill him," he stated.
The court did not share this view and emphasised in its judgement that the man had had enough time to realise the possible consequences of his acts of revenge.
