A man punched his teenage son on the face and elbowed his throat in a drink-fuelled rage after dropping a bottle during a visit to a Perth supermarket.
Ex-soldier Roger Gatt, said to have “issues with alcoholism and anxiety”, then struck the 19-year-old with a metal bar, Perth Sheriff Court was told.
He will be tagged and restricted to his home from 7pm to 7am for the next four-and-a-half months as an alternative to a jail term.
Sheriff Gillian Wade also ordered him to be supervised by a social worker for the next 12 months.
Gatt, of Kintillo Gardens, Bridge of Earn, admitted assaulting his son, to his injury, outside the house and elsewhere on July 10, 2020.
Depute fiscal Andrew Harding said the accused and his son had gone to Tesco but the youth remained in the car while his father went into the store.
“When he came out, he dropped a bottle, causing it to smash. He was angry,” said the fiscal.
When Gatt got back into the car, he punched his son on the left side of his face and elbowed him in the throat but he escaped injury.
Throughout the journey home, the accused was “trying to goad” his son into fighting with him.
As a result, the son packed his bags to return to his mother’s address.
“As he was getting ready to leave, the accused picked up a metal pole and hit him with it, causing a slight cut to his left eye and bruising to his left elbow.”
The accused later insisted to police: “I’m not a bad person.”
Solicitor Cheryl McKnight said: “He acknowledges this was an extremely unfortunate and horrible offence and it’s not something he’s proud of.
“He has taken steps to tackle the issues he has with alcoholism and anxiety.”
He had served in the army and suffers from PTSD, depression and anxiety.
His situation had also been “exacerbated by the pandemic”, stated the lawyer.
Passing sentence, Sheriff Gillian Wade told him: “I don’t think you are in any doubt this was a serious offence.
“The circumstances are most unfortunate, involving an assault on your son using a weapon.”
