A man has been jailed after tying up his friend, parading him through the streets and torturing him all because he stole a tin of chicken curry.
Stuart Paul McPhee, was left fizzing with rage after when his friend Daniel Edwards revealed he’d taken the tin of food from his flat.
Daniel Edwards admitted to eating the tinned curry in February 2021 before livid McPhee lured him to his flat for a visit, the court heard this week.
He then tied Edwards arms with parcel tape and paraded him around his estate shouting “we’ve got a thief here.”
He falsely imprisoned Mr Edwards at his home before attacking him with a stick. The assault continued when McPhee cut his victim with a knife and poured bleach into his wound.
At Cheshire Crown Court this week a judge described the 46-year-old's behaviour as ‘akin to torture’.
McPhee, from Knutsford, has been jailed for 32 months for false imprisonment and given a 10-year restraining order so he cannot approach the victim, according to Cheshire Live.
Judge Michael Leeming told McPhee he was sure the intention was to humiliate Mr Edwards as well as to punish him.
He added: “He was given a beating, although I accept the injuries he suffered weren’t serious. The use of bleach was akin to torture.
“The incident arose due to a stolen tin of curry, meaning it was completely out of all proportion. You took the law into your own hands.”
McPhee lured his victim to his flat on the pretext of bringing bottles of cider, and once there, locked the door and the ordeal began. Mr Dunford said: “He tied his hands with duct tape, before taking him outside.
“He paraded him around the estate saying ‘we’ve got a thief here’. He then took him back inside and began beating him with bamboo sticks before he cut him with a knife and poured bleach into the wound.
“He covered his mouth with duct tape and the ordeal lasted for around two-and-a-half hours.” After Mr Edwards pleaded with McPhee to let him go, he did, but urged him not to tell the police - but Mr Edwards told his family and the police were called.
Richard Conley, defending, said his client had been subject of electronic monitoring since May 2021, which had massively affected his life and made him ‘a prisoner in his own home’.
He added: “The incident had taken place after the pair had been engaged in binge drinking. He’s plainly, an unconventional man who committed an unconventional offence.”
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