A barber was taken to court after he shaved off a patch of hair when his customer refused to pay him the full amount for his haircut.

Ali Akil, 22,  gave a zero fade haircut to Alireza Kashef, 21, at his store Barberatzzi in the Westfield Miranda, south Sydney, on November 25, 2024.

Mr Akil said the service would cost $40 when Mr Kasef said he could only pay $30.

The barber sat the man back down in the salon stool and shaved a 10cm by 5cm section of hair off the top of his head.

Mr Kashef reported the incident to police, who charged Mr Akil with common assault on December 3.

The dispute ended in Sutherland Local Court on Friday after police agreed to drop the charge.

Mr Akil’s lawyer Ahmed Dib argued the case was weak and there was not enough evidence to prove an assault had occurred.

‘I’m feeling good I got some justice out of it. It was so draining,’ Mr Akil told Daily Mail.

Kashef Alireza (pictured) went to the police after he refused to pay the $40 bill for his haircut, prompting barber Ali Akil to shave a section of his hair off

Barber Ali Akil (pictured) said he’s just a young guy trying to earn a living doing what he loves

‘This happens more often than you think.’ 

Mr Akil said he was just a young guy trying to earn a living doing what he loves.

‘If you do a service it’s about getting paid. You just want to make people look good,’ he saud,

Mr Akil said defending himself was stressful and expensive and he was disappointed the matter even made it to court.

The matter was listed for a hearing on Friday, before the court was told that Mr Kashef had not shown up to give evidence and was overseas.

Police then told Magistrate Tania Johnson the charge would be withdrawn.

Court documents showed police took a photo of Mr Kashef’s head, which showed where the chunk of hair had been shaved off, and were set to use it as evidence in the case.

According to police documents, Mr Kashef had never been to the barber shop before he attended on November 25, 2024.

Mr Akil said defending himself was stressful and expensive and he was disappointed the matter even made it to court

‘(Mr Kashef) asked for a zero fade on the side and scissors on the top,’ the police documents said.

‘About 30 minutes later the haircut was completed and (Mr Kashef) was happy with the result and went to the counter to pay.’

Mr Kashef handed over $30, only to be told by Mr Akil that the haircut cost $40.

‘There was a back and forth between the two, with (Mr Kashef) stating he had no (more) money,’ the documents said.

It was then that Mr Akil directed the man back to the chair and shaved a long strip off the top of his head.