Shemsi Kercova, 27, blinded a colleague when he smashed a glass into his eye
A tech businessman who blinded a colleague with a glass in a row over spilled red wine has today been jailed for 15 months.
Shemsi Kercova, 27, smashed a glass into Nawal Mehta's eye in retaliation to having a drink thrown in his face in a central London pub.
Mr Mehta threw his drink at Kercova after the defendant accidentally spilled some wine on him while celebrating a goal.
Mr Mehta can no longer drive or play sports. He has lost depth perception and is at risk of going totally blind if the other eye gets injured.
The pair, who both worked multinational IT services and consulting firm Accenture, were drinking in a pub with a group of friends on 25 January 2019.
Sarah Forshaw, QC, defending told Inner London Crown Court that the group was in a ‘celebratory mood’ as Kercova introduced his fiancée.
He was sitting at a table behind Mr Mehta and watching a football game when his team scored a goal.
Kercova jumped up in the excitement and some of the wine he was holding in his hand flicked out of the glass and at Mr Mehta, who in return threw his drink in Kercova’s face.
The drink-doused man retaliated by hitting Mr Mehta while holding his glass in his hand.
Mr Mehta's face and eyeball were cut as a result.
Judge Silas Reid said: 'The least possible sentence I can pass in this case is one of 15 months imprisonment.
‘I’m quite sure you hit him hard in retaliation.
‘When he threw his drink in your face, you felt the same violation as he felt
