Jail for British tourist who assaulted MBS employee after drinking

After he drank alcohol, a man caused a ruckus at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) by throwing a flowerpot and assaulting several people, including a staff member.

The staff member suffered a head injury and was hospitalised after the assault on Sept 21.

On Oct 17, British national Jonathan David Lowe, 43, was sentenced to six weeks’ jail after he pleaded guilty to one count of public nuisance and one count of voluntarily causing hurt. He was also fined $1,000.

Four other charges of hurting other members of public were taken into consideration for his sentencing.

The court heard that Lowe is a company director of a firm named Keylon Interiors. He had come to Singapore as a tourist for the Formula One race when the incident took place.

At about 8pm on Sept 21, Lowe downed two cups of whisky while at MBS’ rooftop bar with colleagues and clients.

Closed-circuit television footage recorded him entering a hotel lift with five other men at about 10.40pm.

Footage played in court showed Lowe folding his arms, then stretching both of his arms upwards.

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

Some of them tried to hold him back, but he continued the assaults until the lift stopped and the five men ran out.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Zhou Yang said the men did not suffer serious injuries nor seek medical treatment.

After assaulting the men, Lowe went to the B2 lift lobby at 10.58pm. Court documents did not mention how he got there.

Lowe pulled an orchid plant from its pot and flung the pot into another lift carriage, before boarding the lift again.

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

He took the flowerpot out of the lift, threw it on the floor and walked away.

At 11.12pm, Mr Ng Se Li, 28, an assistant manager at MBS, walked up to the fourth-floor lift lobby.

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

Lowe punched Mr Ng’s head at least five times. When the assaulted man tried to stand up, Lowe stomped on his head as well as kicked it.

Mr Ng was taken to hospital where it was found that he had suffered a head injury. He was given seven days of hospitalisation leave.

As footage of the assault played in court, Lowe hung his head low.

DPP Zhou asked for Lowe to be fined for throwing the flowerpot, and sentenced to eight to 10 weeks’ jail for assaulting Mr Ng.

The prosecutor highlighted the seriousness of Mr Ng’s injuries, as he had to be kept under observation overnight at the hospital after the assault.

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

In mitigation, Lowe’s lawyer, Mr Kalidass Murugaiyan, said there were a number of testimonials about his client’s good character.

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

Mr Kalidass added that his client was “perplexed” about his actions and even did a CT scan to see if they were related to an old head injury.

However, it was later found that the injury was not linked to the offences.

The lawyer added that Lowe was apologetic and had offered compensation to the victim.