A Pembroke man’s attempt to exchange pleasantries ended in fisticuffs over the weekend after the other man refused to say “good morning.”

In Magistrates’ Court, 55-year-old Basil Stewart pleaded “guilty with an excuse” to assaulting Harry Landy on April 13, explaining that tempers flared when Mr Landy refused to reply with the traditional “good morning” greeting.

Stewart, of Marsh Lane, approached Mr Landy when he refused to speak to him, prosecutor Carrington Mahoney told the court.

Stewart then began kicking Mr Landy in the legs and punching him in the face, bloodying his nose and knocking him to the ground, said Mr Mahoney, adding that Stewart then continued kicking and punching Mr Landy for two more minutes.

But Stewart told a different story.

“I did not interfere with him, I just said good morning,” Stewart told Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner.

“Well he obviously didn’t want to say good morning,” Mr Warner replied.

Stewart said that Mr Landy’s version of events was wrong and that the two only “traded blows.”

“My blow connected, he went to the ground, and it was over.”

Mr Warner fined Stewart $500.