A man who claims he bought a stun gun from a stranger in a backstreet because he thought it was an electric razor is "lucky to be alive," police have said.
Mohammed Khan, 26, insists he had no idea of the device's real function when he purchased it around the back of a takeaway.
He appeared with the aid of a crutch as he pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon Bolton Crown Court today.
The stun gun and its charger was uncovered from his property during a search by Greater Manchester Police’s Tactical Aid Unit on May 1 last year.
When Khan got home after the backstreet deal, he claims he plugged the device in and "tried to shave with it", Manchester Evening News reports.
"Mr Khan says the device did not charge up, so he put the device in a drawer and forgot all about it,” said prosecutor Eleanor Gleeson.
“He says that he did not realise the prongs were part of a stun gun as he had never seen one before and that if he had known the device was a stun gun he would have acted differently.”
Stun guns similar to Khan’s device contain a voltage range of one to 25 kilovolts, according to police enquiries, thought it is not known exactly how many volts Khan’s specific gun could administer.
Police investigators reported that the young man is "lucky to be alive, because forensics proved the device did charge correctly to be a viable device", the court was told.
Stuart Neale, defending, said Khan believed the stun gun to be nothing more than a "piece of plastic".
Khan had also recently suffered a stroke - the apparent reason that he has been left crutch-bound - and is receiving "round the clock care", added Mr Neale.
The stress of the ordeal and the subsequent criminal charge is thought to be what triggered the stroke, his defence barrister claimed.
"Primarily housebound" as a result, Khan’s poor health was stated as a reason he would not be able to carry out any unpaid work as punishment for the offence.
“It is thought that the stress of this put his blood pressure through the roof and brought the stroke on,” said the defence barrister.
“He has got no money and is being supported by his family.”
Presiding over the case, Judge Martin Walsh agreed that Khan is "unfit to undertake any unpaid work and is of no financial means at the moment".
The judge sentenced Khan to a conditional discharge of two years.
