A Rutherglen dad-of-two was floored and killed with a single punch by a man he was playing pool with, a court was told on Monday.
Chef Thomas Allan, 52, from Govan, Glasgow, sent Jason Haig, 45, to the ground with a left hand punch while holding his pool cue in his right.
The unprovoked assault, which was captured on CCTV, took place at Harley’s Sky Bar on Rutherglen Main Street, on September 2.
At the High Court in Glasgow, Allan admitted the culpable homicide of Mr Haig, who died in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital on September 10 from a catastrophic brain injury.
Prosecutor Michael Meehan said the two men had been playing pool for around 20 minutes.
Mr Meehan said: “After some time there was a change in body language between them. Mr Haig tapped the end of his cue on the table and the accused apparently remonstrated with him.
“This exchange happened twice more. Then the accused approached Mr Haig, spoke to him for a few seconds, then punched him on the face once.”
The court heard that as Mr Haig lay unconscious on the floor and pub regulars tried to help him, Allan was heard to say: “He better stay down or I’ll put him f****** back down,” and “I warned him three times”.
Footage of the one-punch attack was shown in court and there were audible gasps when the punch was swung and Mr Haig crashed to the ground hitting his head on the wooden floor.
As Mr Haig lay unconscious and bleeding he was attended by two men.
Allan, who was a regular in the bar, left after a couple of minutes.
He was apprehended two days later in a bar in Hope Street, Glasgow.
Mr Haig died from a massive bleed on the brain. He also suffered a skull fracture.
The court heard Allan has previous convictions for possession of an offensive weapon and assault.
Judge Lord Mulholland told Allan: “This was an unprovoked assault.
“It was a catastrophic injury you delivered to this man and after punching him you left him to his fate.”
Lord Mulholland deferred sentence on Allan until next month, remanded him in custody and called for background reports.
