Southampton restaurant customer guilty of stabbing Jerk Pan chef

Jaypal Khaira, 33, stabbed chef Austin Whithorne in the inner thigh after an argument broke out over change at Jerk Pan on Commercial Road.

Prosecutor Andrew Houston had previously told Southampton Crown Court Khaira was arguing with the cashier when Mr Whithorne approached “trying to calm the defendant down”.

But after leaving the restaurant in an “agitated” state, Khaira was seen on CCTV entering the restaurant from a rear door that leads into the kitchen.

The prosecution claimed that he was trying to go through the kitchen to get back into the restaurant itself, but the chef tried to stop him, restraining him and telling him to “calm down”.

He claimed that Khaira stabbed the chef once in the inner thigh, before threatening to “either shoot or stab him”.

Mr Whithorne was then seen on camera, limping out of the restaurant where he said he called the police outside on April 13, 2022.

Jerk Pan, Commercial Road, Southampton (Image: Google Maps)READ MORE: Man 'impaled' knife into chef's leg after row over change at restaurant, jury told

READ MORE: 'He had me in a chokehold' claims man accused of stabbing chef after row

However, Khaira, of The Polygon, claimed during his evidence he did not have a knife, and that he was put in a headlock by Mr Whithorne.

He claimed he was backed into the corner and was being strangled from behind when he saw the chef pull out a knife in his other hand.

He previously told the jury: “He was pushing me and then he put me in a headlock.

"I was saying what are you doing, get off me. I was pushing him back at this point.

"He was shouting and he was prodding me. He grabbed me from the front. He had me in a chokehold from behind.

"He was strangling me from behind. I saw a knife come out from his other hand.

"I tried getting him off me. I managed to squeeze out of it and kind of like pull him and that is when Chini (the manager) entered."

Mr Whithorne suffered a stab wound to his inner thigh during the struggle and was taken to hospital.

However, in a trial which ended on Thursday, jurors rejected his argument and Khaira was found guilty of section 18 wounding with intent.

He has been remanded in custody for sentencing on April 25.