A man has been jailed for 18 months after throwing a “corrosive substance” at a guest’s face at a spiritual retreat and fleeing the country.
Dean Mayze, 38, admitted grievous bodily harm after the incident following a disagreement at the retreat he ran in Abercrave, Powys, in December 2022.
Mayze fled abroad afterwards, triggering a manhunt by South Wales Police, with bank payments made in Dublin, France, Italy, Croatia and Greece before he was eventually arrested in Romania in July 2025.
His victim, who described his eyes as “exploding with pain”, had to receive intense medical treatment to avoid permanent loss of sight.