A man suffering from a severe mental illness told police he repeatedly stabbed a kebab shop worker with a 30cm carving fork in revenge for being racially abused.

Caleb Shebioba, who has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder that can include paranoid persecutory thoughts and hallucinations, had only been released from hospital a week before the attack at the Ashford Pizza and Kebab House.

Canterbury Crown Court heard that following a row with staff at about 7.30pm on August 8, 2021 he returned half an hour later, having "grabbed the nearest thing to hand", and struck Majmun Khail twice in the back and twice in the arm from behind.

The 26-year-old later claimed he had previously been insulted with the 'N-word' and threatened with a machete.

But at his sentencing hearing, a judge said no matter "how repellent" the abuse, perceived or otherwise, it did not justify such "serious and public violence".

The court heard Shebioba had been "acutely psychotic" during his 10-day inpatient admission before being released on a community treatment order.

But, against a background of relapsing due to a combination of illicit substances and not taking his medication, he lashed out at Mr Khail just seven days later as he was switching on lights and signage at the takeaway in Tufton Street.

CCTV footage filmed from outside the fast food outlet had captured the defendant standing on the threshold and "clearly having words" with staff inside, said prosecutor Paul Valder, although it was not said if the victim had been involved.

However, it was at about 8pm that the same camera captured "a flurry of activity" as Shebioba returned, ran in and attacked Mr Khail.

"He was in the front of the kebab house looking to turn on lights and signage and was suddenly aware of a male running in who he recognised and knew that he was known to other staff," Mr Valder told the court.

"He was then aware of being rapidly hit with a sharp item from behind and described a sensation as if he was being stabbed. He managed to run outside and fell on the floor and the male stabbing him stopped."

The court heard that having briefly pursued Mr Khail, Shebioba then fled in the opposite direction.

Referring to the CCTV footage of the attack, Mr Valder continued: "We can see a flurry of activity inside the shop but it's unclear what was happening.

"The defendant however, for whatever reason and having left the shop, armed himself with a carving fork, returned and stabbed Mr Khail four times, twice in the back in the area of the shoulder and twice in the top of the left arm, leaving four sets of puncture wounds."

Mr Khail was taken to hospital where his injuries were cleaned. He was said however to be in "a lot of pain" and having trouble sleeping due to "dwelling on what could have happened and how it could have been worse", added the prosecutor.

Shebioba was arrested at his home in Ashford, where he "made no bones" about his motive for the violence, the court was told.

"At the time, the defendant was saying 'What did you expect me to do? Just take it? I'm proud of what I have done. I'll do it again but it will be worse next time.'," continued Mr Valder

"He also told the officer who recovered the carving fork 'If the guy is racist to me does that weigh anything in court? Say, if someone was racist to me and I attacked them?'

"It was clear Mr Shebioba was saying someone in the restaurant had used the N-word against him and that he himself had been hit earlier by some sort of kitchen implement and threatened with a machete.

"He said he had readily grabbed the first thing that came to hand and had gone round to the restaurant seeking retribution. He made no bones about it, albeit when subsequently interviewed, he answered 'No comment'."

‘The defendant, for whatever reason and having left the shop, armed himself with a carving fork...’

Shebioba, who has no previous convictions, later pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and possessing a bladed article.

The court was told that since his arrest more than two years ago he had either been on remand in prison or under hospital care and is currently resident at the Trevor Gibbens psychiatric unit in Maidstone.

Describing his patient as "highly intelligent", Dr Karan Veer Singh said any risk posed to the public could be better managed with treatment under a hospital order rather than a prison sentence or a combination of the two under what is known as a hybrid order.

He also told the court that if and when released, Shebioba would be subject to robust conditions to ensure he remained drug-free and complied with taking his prescription medication.

Dr Singh agreed with Jemima Ivens, defending, that a jail term would simply leave the defendant "dangling without a safety net".

Judge Simon James therefore imposed an indefinite hospital order, expressing the need for the "concerning cycle of inpatient treatment followed by non-compliance, substance misuse, crisis and relapse" to be addressed.

"Unless and until this cycle is broken and your insight and engagement improves, you are an individual who poses a significant risk of serious harm," he told Shebioba.

"You committed what seems to have been a premeditated and, in my judgment, serious revenge attack. Having had an altercation with those working at the Ashford Pizza and Kebab House, you armed yourself with a 30cm-long carving fork and returned to the premises obviously intent on confrontation and used the fork to repeatedly stab your victim.

"More by chance than judgement, his wounds were not more serious than they might have been. But the real capacity for you to have killed or disabled your victim would have been obvious.

"Although you were later to claim you had been provoked by racial insults, however repellent there is no justification for such serious and public violence.

"In fact, it seems highly likely that your perception of what may have happened would have been significantly impacted by the paranoia of your diagnosed schizoaffective disorder and failure to comply with your medication regime."

Judge James added that Shebioba would not be released until his risk was considered by a mental health tribunal to be "manageable".