A young Cork man who was observed masturbating behind two young women visiting the city had sentencing put back yesterday for him to deal with his cannabis addiction.

A young woman claimed her ex-boyfriend threatened to slice her face and rip her in two, during an alleged incident last weekend. But the accused denied being present, denied making threats, and insisted he was never her boyfriend.

Anyone assaulting a garda, hospital staff or members of the emergency services was at risk of a jail sentence, a judge warned yesterday as he sentenced a man to four months for such a crime.