Prison for British tourist who assaulted MBS employee after drinking, Latest News from Singapore

After drinking alcohol, a man caused a ruckus at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) by throwing a flower pot and attacking several people, including a staff member.

The staff member suffered a head injury and was hospitalized after the attack on September 21.

On October 17, British national Jonathan David Lowe, 43, was sentenced to six weeks in prison after pleading guilty to one count of public nuisance and one count of wounding with intent. He was also fined $1,000.

Four other counts of causing harm to other members of the public were taken into consideration for his sentencing.

The court heard Lowe was a director of a company called Keylon Interiors. He had come to Singapore as a tourist for the Formula 1 race when the incident took place.

On September 21, around 8 p.m., Lowe drank two cups of whiskey while at MBS’s rooftop bar with colleagues and customers.

Closed-circuit television footage captured him entering a hotel elevator with five other men around 10:40 p.m.

Footage played in court showed Lowe crossing his arms, then stretching both arms upward.

Then, he suddenly slapped and punched four of the five men in the elevator.

Some of them tried to restrain him, but he continued his assaults until the elevator stopped and the five men fled.

Deputy prosecutor Zhou Yang said the men did not suffer serious injuries and did not seek medical attention.

After assaulting the men, Lowe went to the B2 elevator lobby at 10:58 p.m. Court documents do not specify how he got there.

Lowe took an orchid out of its pot and threw the pot into another elevator cart, before boarding the elevator again.

As the elevator reached level four, DPP Zhou said Lowe intended to throw the pot out of the elevator, but stopped when he saw a member of the public.

He took the flower pot out of the elevator, threw it on the ground and walked away.

At 11:12 p.m., Mr Ng Se Li, 28, a deputy director of MBS, walked towards the elevator lobby on the fourth floor.

Without warning, Lowe hit Mr Ng’s head, causing him to fall backwards and hit the wall.

Lowe hit Mr Ng’s head at least five times. When the attacked man tried to get up, Lowe stomped on his head and kicked him.

Mr Ng was taken to hospital where he was found to have suffered head injuries. He was granted seven-day hospital leave.

As footage of the assault was played in court, Lowe lowered his head.

DPP Zhou asked that Lowe be fined for throwing the flowerpot and given eight to 10 weeks in prison for assaulting Mr Ng.

The prosecutor highlighted the seriousness of Mr Ng’s injuries, who had to remain under observation overnight in hospital after the attack.

“The attack was unprovoked. The manner of the attack was brutal,” said DPP Zhou.

In mitigation, Lowe’s lawyer, Mr Kalidass Murugaiyan, said there was a number of testimonies to his client’s good character.

“What we have here is actually an aberration, a one-off incident or a series of unfortunate incidents over a short period of time,” said the lawyer, who asked for a fine for his client instead of a sentence. of imprisonment.

Mr Kalidass added that his client was “perplexed” about his actions and even had a scan done to see if they were linked to previous head trauma.

However, it later turned out that the injury was not related to the infractions.

The lawyer added that Lowe apologized and offered compensation to the victim.