A West Australian priest has been fined $1000 for biting off the ear of a fellow elderly clergyman in a dispute over a sprinkler, reports WA Today.
Thomas Henry Byrne, 81 (pictured), was spared a criminal conviction after pleading guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm on Tuesday, because a Perth magistrate accepted dementia had played a central role in the attack.
A confrontation was sparked between the two men after the victim moved some objects around the shared yard of their Dianella complex on November 9.
As a result the victim's ear was completely severed.
FULL STORY Priest fined $1000 for ear-biting (WA Today)
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