A MAN who was jailed for 2½ years for assaulting a Polish man who subsequently plunged 20ft from a bridge over the river Bandon has succeeded in having half of his sentence suspended on appeal.
The presiding judge said the court considered the “considerable period” Paul Dynan (34) had already spent in jail as sufficient to meet the penalty for his offence and directed that the balance of his 15-month term be suspended on a good behaviour bond of five years.
The Court of Criminal Appeal found yesterday that Judge Patrick Moran had erred in principle in imposing a two-year sentence on Dynan at Cork Circuit Criminal Court in February last year for assault causing harm.
Dynan, of Main Street, Kilbrittan, Co Cork, had pleaded guilty to assaulting Hubert Karcocha (28) on the bridge in Bandon in the early hours of October 30th, 2007, during a drunken altercation.
Mr Karcocha had to be rescued by gardaí after falling into the river.