A B.C. immigrant has been given a suspended sentence and two years' probation in a case where a man was stabbed in the stomach and slashed in the legs.
Mohamed Abdalla Mohamed Elbahloul, 24, was accused of assault on one man and aggravated assault of another. He pleaded guilty to assault and the lesser included charge.
Vancouver Provincial Court Judge Kathryn Denhoff passed sentence on April 24.
The incidents took place Nov. 6, 2021 when Elbahloul and two other men were drinking in Vancouver’s downtown entertainment district.
Denhoff said Elbahloul had become very intoxicated before there was a confrontation in the club. They soon moved outside.
The court heard one of Elbahloul's friends handed him a knife and he stabbed a man in the stomach and then slashed his legs. The man required staples for both wounds.
The group’s attention then turned to another man. He was thrown to the ground and Elbahloul kicked him in the stomach, the judge said.
Denhoff said neither of the victims could be reached to provide a victim impact statement to the court.
“It can be expected that the injuries would be very traumatic for both men,” she said.
The Crown had asked for six months in jail while defence lawyer Jordan Allingham suggested the suspended sentence.
Denhoff said Elbahloul was born in Libya and was 11 when war broke out there. She said he has experienced much violence and lived through the killing of relatives.
At 15, he went to Turkey in an attempt to get refugee status but was unsuccessful and returned to Libya. At 19, he came to Canada — first to Montreal and then Vancouver.
Denhoff said he fell in with a bad group of people and began drinking heavily.
Since the incident, however, she said he has moved to Victoria, become well-employed, limited his drinking and is taking English courses with the goal of going to business school.
The judge accepted Elbahloul is “embarrassed, apologetic and remorseful for his actions.”
She said his refugee status is now in limbo and there is a strong possibility he could be deported.
