A jury found Premjit Rai guilty of aggravated assault for suckerpunching a Vancouver man, which caused permanent eye damageto the victim Eric Fair. Rai, who stopped drinking in October 2012,took full responsibility for his actions, which he attributed to excessivealcohol consumption. However, Rai did breach his bail condition tonot consume alcohol, for which he was sentenced to one day in custodyand fined $250. Aside from the two years less a day in jail, Rai mustalso pay Fair $18,483 for medical expenses he has incurred since theincident.
VANCOUVER – An Indo-Canadian man’s sucker punch during a night along the Granville Entertainment District on March 13, 2011 has earned him lengthy jail time.
Premjit Rai , who was celebrating his birthday with friends at Caprice Nightclub in the Granville Entertainment District, was part of a group which was involved in a yelling match with another group when bystander Eric Fair decided to try to calm things down between the two groups a couple of years ago in March.
Fair, who was waiting for slice of pizza when he intervened, encouraged them to go home and call it a day, when suddenly he was hit so hard it felt like his left eye had exploded.
“The punch was strong enough that Mr. Fair believed his left eye had ‘exploded,’” Justice Patrice Abrioux wrote in his decision, calling the punch “an unnecessary and gratuitous use of force.”
Fair, who had worked as a doorman at the Caprice in the past, suffered major damage to his eye. Along with damage to his vision, he suffers from frequent flashbacks and has trouble sleeping.
Rai, 24, was convicted by a jury in May of aggravated assault and he was sentenced late last month in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver and the decision was released last Friday.
The judge ruled the puncher was drunk, being aggressive, and exercising poor judgement.
But those extenuating circumstances weren’t enough for Rai to avoid jail time as he has now been sentenced to two years less a day.
Fair was taken to hospital and had two operations on his left eye, which had ruptured. His vision could not be restored and he is now permanently blind in his left eye, reported the Province newspaper.
“The injuries sustained by Mr. Fair are significant and permanent. They are not only physical but psychological as well. They will affect him indefinitely,” Abrioux wrote.
Rai, who stopped drinking in October 2012, took full responsibility for his actions, which he attributed to excessive alcohol consumption. However, Rai did breach his bail condition to not consume alcohol, for which he was sentenced to one day in custody and fined $250.
“In his statement to the court before sentencing, Mr. Rai expressed considerable and unequivocal remorse for his behaviour. I accept his statement as a genuine reflection of his feelings,” Abrioux wrote.
After he is released from jail, Rai will be on probation for three years. During that time, he must abstain from alcohol or drugs and will be prohibited from entering the Granville Street entertainment district between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Rai must also pay Fair $18,483 for medical expenses he has incurred since the incident, reported the Province.
