A car wash owner who shouted “I am tiger” and attacked two people during a row over parking spaces at a south Dublin coffee dock has been given a suspended jail sentence and ordered to carry out community service.
Ismail Tamar (42), of Dolphins Barn Street, Dublin 8, had pleaded not guilty at Tallaght District Court guilty to two counts of assault causing harm, along with a public order offence arising from an incident at Churchtown Car Wash and Valet on Braemor Road, Dublin 14, on March 4, 2022.
The court heard the trouble began after a dispute over where a Mercedes Sprinter van had parked near a coffee truck adjoining Tamar’s car wash business.
The van driver told the court he had arrived to buy a coffee when Tamar approached him “swearing and shouting with expletives”.
“I genuinely thought he was joking at the start”, he told the court. The driver said he had “never seen anyone so angry in that situation”.
He said Tamar later pointed a high-pressure power washer directly into his face while continuing to shout abuse. He said Tamar shouted, “I am tiger, I am tiger” during the confrontation.
“I fell to the ground with him on top of me. He proceeded to punch me in the face, my ears and my body”, the victim added.
A friend of the van driver told the court that Tamar was “very angry about something” from the moment she arrived. She described seeing him point the power washer at the driver before punches were thrown.
She added: “I only went in for a coffee!”
Another customer said he tried to physically pull Tamar away from the coffee truck owner during a second altercation but added: “No matter what I tried to do, it didn’t seem to have any effect”.
Garda Colm Walsh told the court that he arrived shortly after 1.15pm and saw Tamar throwing “at least three” punches through the window of a car while the driver tried to deflect the blows.
The court heard Tamar later told gardaí he had thrown hot tea at the coffee truck operator and struck him.
Giving evidence through a Persian interpreter, Tamar claimed he had acted in self-defence and said he was trying to stop the van driver from leaving.
State solicitor Brian Coveney questioned how Tamar could claim to be in fear of the driver while also chasing after him, asking whether he was “trying to be a good citizen”.
Judge John King said he was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Tamar was guilty of all three offences before the court.
Garda Colm Walsh told the court that Tamar had 12 previous convictions, including assault, criminal damage and public order offences.
Defence counsel Ciara Ní Ghabhann said Tamar, originally from Afghanistan, had been living in Ireland for 13 years, was currently unemployed and was anxious to return to work.
Judge King ordered Tamar to complete 120 hours of community service in lieu of a four-month prison sentence for the assault on the van driver, with the public order offence taken into consideration, subject to a suitability report.
The judge also imposed a three-month prison sentence, suspended for one year, for the assault on the coffee truck operator, on condition the community service order is completed within 12 months”.