Soldier who stabbed room-mate in fight at Scots barracks cleared of murder bid

A SOLDIER who stabbed a fellow squaddie in a brutal barracks bust-up has been cleared of attempted murder.

Paula Tikonatabua was on trial at the High Court in Livingston accused of a kill bid on bare-knuckle boxer Mani Hameed.

The 24-year-old infantryman admitted using a knife on his room-mate, 20, at Redford Barracks in Edinburgh – but insisted he acted in self defence.

And yesterday Tikonatabua, of The Royal Regiment of Scotland, walked free when jurors believed his version of events and returned a not guilty verdict.

Jurors deliberated for seven hours after Thursday’s closing speeches before returning a majority not guilty verdict yesterday.

Tikonatabua – a Fiji national known to pals as Tiko – earlier gave evidence in his own defence as he denied attempting to murder Hameed on May 21, 2022.

He told the court he could have ended Mr Hameed’s life during the fight if he had chosen to by plunging the blade deeper into his body.

He said: “Us soldiers, we are trained to kill people. I have to do what is necessary to save myself. A knife – that was my only option.”

Mr Hameed told jurors there had been a “fairly rowdy, drunken evening” in the barracks’ in the hours before the violent clash with Tikonatabua.

He said he was the only person in the Balaklava Block who had not been boozing that night because he was preparing for a boxing match.

When he returned to his room in the early hours of the morning he found his bed sheets had been ripped and a fan and computer monitor smashed.

He immediately blamed the accused, who was lying in bed, for causing the damage.

Mr Hameed said: “I told him he was going to pay for it and he started smiling.

“I pulled his sheet away and he turned onto his back and kicked me in the face.

“Then he stands up and shoulder charges me into his corner of the room.

“I started feeling hits – punches – so I punched him on his body as well.”

Mr Hameed said he felt “sharp things” on his body – about 11 of them – but thought he was just being punched.

He went on: “When I stepped back I felt like water running down my body.”

Mr Hameed – who was described as “ripped” by colleagues because he did extra physical training – said he then saw the accused was holding a kitchen knife above his head.

He went on: “I then realised the water I felt was in fact blood and I tried to get away.”

In his closing speech, advocate depute Bill McVicar told jurors: “You might think that striking with a knife 12 times in response to being punched is a classic example of cruel excess.

“Normally striking someone with a fist wouldn’t merit retaliation with a knife.”

Defence counsel Tommy Allan pointed out that the whole incident was over very quickly.

He said: “The accused said that as soon as the punches stopped, he stopped.”

He urged jurors: “Remember to make allowances for the heat of the moment, the excitement, the adrenaline of being attacked and being in fear of your life.

“The Crown hasn’t proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he was not acting in self defence.”

When the verdict was delivered, Judge Fiona Tait formally acquitted Tikonatabua and told him he was free to leave the court.

He made no comment as he left the building with an Army officer who had been present throughout the proceedings.