A drug addict who spat blood into the eyes of two gardai and said, "I have the virus and you have it now" was jailed for a year yesterday.
Neil Doyle (23), Finnegan House, Viking Harbour, Dublin, was convicted in his absence at Dublin District Court after the court heard how the two gardai are still undergoing regular tests to check whether they had contracted HIV.
Doyle was involved in a fight with another man outside Arnott's in Henry Street, Dublin on April 23rd when gardai arrived on the scene and separated the pair. Doyle, whose lip had been burst during the fight, spat blood into the face and eyes of two officers.
Doyle's barrister told the court he was a long-term drug addict and although he suffered from ill health, he did not have HIV.