Titans insults lead to tragedy as father kicked in head
Father now hides injuries from kids so as not to scare them
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INSULTS about a rugby league team sparked a street fight where a young man kicked a father in the face.
And the man who was attacked now hides his facial injuries from children so as not to scare them, a court has heard.
Jabin Lee Giblett of Mackay made derogatory remarks about the Gold Coast Titans when he saw a group of people at a tavern.
Giblett kept badgering and pestering a 35-year-old man during the Gold Coast incident.
Brisbane District Court heard the older man told Giblett "F--- off” but eventually the two came to blows.
Giblett, now 23, punched the man, knocking him down. The man got up and Giblett punched him again.
On Thursday, the court heard the situation escalated as a woman became involved in the melee.
Then Giblett kicked the man in the face and knocked him out.
Prosecutors said Giblett was "out for a fight that particular evening”.
The court heard the victim now wore hats or sunglasses even when inside so his facial injuries would not upset children.
He also had ongoing physical pain and was a self-employed man who had suffered financially since the attack.
Defence counsel Adrian Donaldson said Giblett had written a letter of apology to the father.
Mr Donaldson said his client spent most of his early life in Mackay and had always been in employment since leaving school.
Last month in Ipswich, Giblett was disqualified for 15 months and fined $1500 for driving under the influence at Redbank Plains.
And in 2013, he was fined in Gatton Magistrates Court for drink driving and driving without a licence.
On Thursday, Judge Catherine Muir sentenced Giblett to three years' jail for causing grievous bodily harm in the Gold Coast attack.
He will be released on April 28 next year. -NewsRegional
Originally published as Titans insults lead to tragedy as father kicked in head