A HUNGARIAN murdered in an unprovoked attack by a curfew-breaking youth in Glasgow loved living in Scotland, his father said yesterday.
Istvan Sipos, 26, had told his family he would not be returning to his homeland for many years, and he was planning to buy a flat in time for his girlfriend's arrival to be with him.
James Spence, 20, ended the dream by repeatedly stabbing Mr Sipo
s in the back as he waited for a bus to go to a nightclub to celebrate his birthday.
Spence was on bail, and supposed to be at home under the conditions of the order, at the time of the attack.
After seeing his son's killer sentenced to a minimum of 15 years under a life sentence, a tearful Istvan Sipos snr, 50, spoke of the family's despair.
With his wife and a second son at his side, Mr Sipos said through an interpreter: "We have to go home like this, without one son. As a father, for this crime the longest sentence and the biggest punishment would not be enough. I am in a devastated state of mind. If you had lost your son, how would you feel?"
Mr Sipos said Istvan and his brother, Kristian, 23, had moved to Scotland to work, drawn by the lure of higher wages, and worked as drivers with Caledonian Buses in Glasgow.
"Istvan never had any problems with passengers on the bus or the company they worked for. He loved being here. He said he would not go home for ten years. He had just been to the bank to see about a mortgage because he wanted to buy a flat. He had a girlfriend who was hoping to join him in Scotland once she finished her studies," added Mr Sipos.
"His murderer wanted to have a fight without any reason. Istvan had no chance to defend himself. If he (Spence] gets out after 15 years, he will kill again."
Spence, of Burnside Gardens, Priesthill, Glasgow, admitted murdering Istvan in the early hours of 10 June last year in Hopeman Road, where the brothers had been staying. A second youth, Kevin Forsyth, 19, of Kilmuir Road, Glasgow, pleaded guilty to striking Kristian on the arm with a knife.
The brothers and some friends had been waiting for a bus when Spence and Forsyth approached. Spence asked for a cigarette and was given one, and asked where the group came from, and was told Poland and Hungary.
Istvan was punched to the ground and Spence stabbed him six times in the back, one wound piercing his heart.
At the time, Spence was on bail for a charge of robbing a pizza delivery driver at knifepoint, and he was supposed to remain at home between 7pm and 7am.
The judge, Lady Dorrian, told Spence: "This was a cowardly, unjustified and violent attack on an innocent and unarmed stranger."
Forsyth was sentenced to detention for five years and eight months.
Last night Bill Aitken MSP, the Conservative justice spokesman, said: "This was a tragedy which should never have happened. Once again we see the awful consequences of Scotland's free-and-easy bail laws."
The full article contains 537 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
