Family’s fury at miscarriage of justice

A DUMFRIES mum is angry and disappointed at the Scottish legal system, which she says failed her son with a ‘miscarriage of justice’.

Rachel Phillips is appalled that the man who set her then 17-year-old son Mark on fire as a ‘prank’ was only given a fine by the courts.

And she’s been further frustrated to discover that victims have no right of appeal against sentences.

It happened in August 2023 while Mark was at work at a garage in Cargenbridge.

His colleague, Paul Dunlop, repeatedly sprayed Mark’s trousers with flammable brake and clutch fluid then ignited a lighter which caused the fire and left the teen with severe injuries and permanent disfigurement.

In court at Dumfries, Dunlop, 42, admitted his actions but claimed it was a prank which went horribly wrong.

And at sentencing last month, presiding sheriff Mungo Bovey described it as “an incredibly stupid and dangerous thing (...) rather than it was motivated by malice”, and ordered Dunlop to pay £2400 in compensation.

But Rachel believes the punishment is far too lenient and said: “A 17-year-old young man set on fire by a 42-year-old man, whose reason for doing so was “it’s a joke!”

“In Scottish Law my understanding is that a 17-year-old person is legally still a child; and setting fire to a young person is a serious criminal offence.

“Dunlop’s punishment unbelievably is a fine of £2400. How is this justice? I simply cannot accept that a fine of £2400 is a high enough penalty for such a serious crime.”

She revealed that Mark now has permanent disfigurement to his body, together with serious mental health issues as a direct result of the assault, which she has branded ‘dangerous’, insisting the attacker acted with ‘wicked recklessness’.

“At the time of the attack Mark was legally a child who could have expected and should have received protection from the Scottish legal system, which has failed him miserably,” she added.

In addition, Rachel is questioning why it was not pursued as a more serious charge, saying: “I do not believe that murder was the intent but “wicked recklessness” with complete disregard for the consequences of their actions on the victim’s life, most definitely was.

“An assault is considered serious if the victim’s injuries lead to hospitalisation, permanent disfigurement, or impairment. Mark Phillips’ injuries did lead to hospitalisation, permanent disfigurement together with subsequent mental health issues brought about by the assault.”

The family are further frustrated that victims cannot appeal against sheriff court sentences.

They have contacted Victim Support for help but have not heard back yet, and politicians have been unable to get very far with the case.

But they are not giving up and intend to raise a formal complaint with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.