A 22-year-old woman has been convicted and sentenced for glassing a 35-year-old work colleague at Langford’s Hotel in Mackay.
Kytarna Leyland-Rice, a BHP workforce co-ordinator, hit a glass she was holding into the head of another man in her work group soon after throwing a drink in his face – following racist and sexist comments he made.
Both were part of a Christmas party gathering at Sails Sports Bar in December 2020. The victim accused Leyland-Rice of accessing a bar tab she was not entitled to use. The group moved on to Langford’s and the argument continued, with both sides said to have been using “poor language”.
Leyland-Rice and her friends did walk away, but the victim stood and began yelling and gesturing and CCTV footage captured her return and hit him with the drink, resulting in a cut requiring four staples in hospital.
The accused’s defence offered that the victim “wouldn’t stop carrying on” about the bar tab, which Leyland-Rice denied using, explaining to the court that her reputation as “an honest person” was something she really values.
She pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding before Mackay District Court, providing four references describing her in high regard.
Judge Julie Dick proffered that people who hit other people with glasses in venues “go to jail”, but accepted that the victim had been highly provocative and made inappropriate comments.
Leyland-Rice was convicted and sentenced to 12 months’ prison, wholly suspended for 18 months.
