Aussie tourist jailed for drunken attack on cops in Changi Airport
REUTERS file photo.
SINGAPORE — A drunken man who was filmed creating a ruckus and assaulting police officers at Changi Airport was sentenced to six months and two weeks in jail on Thursday (Aug 31).
Jason Peter Darragh, a 44-year-old Australian, was transiting here en route to the Philippines to visit his girlfriend. He pleaded guilty to one count each of using criminal force, voluntarily causing hurt and using vulgar language on policemen.
He also admitted causing annoyance while drunk in public.
Darragh’s first two offences were committed on April 20 at the departure hall of Terminal 2. Court documents stated that two police officers approached him after 12.15am.
He pushed a police inspector several times and slapped the other officer’s face. The tussle was caught on video by a member of the public and was circulated widely on social media.
At least one of the YouTube videos has attracted 1.5 million views, the prosecution said on Thursday.
A video played in court showed Darragh, clad in a blue polo t-shirt, hurling profanities and threats at two officers, who repeatedly shouted at him to calm down. At one point Darragh pushed one officer to the ground.
Seeking a “stiff deterrent sentence” of eight months and two weeks’ jail, Deputy Public Prosecutor Jason Lim said Darragh’s “brazen” rampage caused “severe public disquiet” and had threatened public safety.
It took at least six officers to finally contain Darragh and place him under arrest, the court heard. “This is a case where (Darragh) had severely undermined the authority of police officers ... By doing that, he had engendered severe public disquiet,” charged Mr Lim.
“Those aggravating factors warrant a stiff custodial sentence.”
Mr Lim said there was a need to increase punishment for offences such as Darragh’s, in light of the “worrying trend” of public officers being assaulted in the course of their duties.
Darragh also admitted to hurling vulgarities at a police officer at Tan Tock Seng Hospital on April 26 and behaving “aggressively and indecently” in the presence of female members of the public on May 1 at a taxi stand in Clarke Quay.
These offences were committed while he was out on bail for the airport incident.
The court took into consideration seven other charges — five relating to the April 20 incident — in sentencing.
In mitigation, Darragh’s lawyer S S Dhillon said the airport commotion arose from a misunderstanding between Darragh and a member of the public from whom he was trying to seek directions.
Darragh was “tipsy and not in proper control of his senses”, said Mr Dhillon. He had consumed alcohol at the airport after flying in from Perth and had proceeded to Clarke Quay for more drinks, before returning for his connecting flight to Cebu.
Mr Dhillon said Darragh had struggled with alcohol abuse after separating from his wife of three years, and was “on a path of recovery” before he left for Singapore.
Urging the court to impose a “fair and just” sentence, the lawyer also noted that the victims did not sustain serious injuries and were treated as outpatients.
