Bank employee jailed for pushing police officer outside nightclub at Pan Pacific Hotel

• A bank employee had gone to a nightclub at Pan Pacific Hotel to have drinks with colleagues
• The club’s security officers later had to get him to leave and he started behaving aggressively
• When the police were called in, he verbally abused an officer and pushed him on the chest

SINGAPORE — A bank employee has been jailed three weeks for pushing a police officer outside a club along Raffles Boulevard two years ago.

On Friday (Aug 28), Shane Dardis, 48, pleaded guilty to one charge of using criminal force on a public servant.

The Irish, who is a Singapore permanent resident, faced a second charge for insulting a public servant and this was taken into considering for sentencing. 

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Colin Ng said that Dardis was having drinks with his colleagues at the LuLu’s Lounge nightclub at Pan Pacific Hotel in the wee hours of March 10 in 2018 when the club’s security officers were called in to remove him from the premises.

A security officer also called for police assistance because Dardis was behaving aggressively. 

When Sergeant Mohammad Noor Hafiz and his partner arrived around 2.40am, they were informed by the club’s security officers that they had been in a minor scuffle with Dardis while they were trying to escort him out of the club.

Dardis told the police officers that the club’s security officers scraped his eyes during the altercation.  

While the police sergeants were verifying Dardis’ identification, they told him to sit against the wall near the entrance of the club.

Dardis complied initially, but stood up a few minutes later and challenged Sergeant Hafiz to arrest him and refused to follow instructions to sit. Instead, he continued complaining about his eye.

DPP Ng said that Dardis then suddenly started accusing Sergeant Hafiz of injuring his eye, even though the latter clarified that he was a police officer and not one of the club’s personnel.

Dardis did not listen and started behaving aggressively towards Sergeant Hafiz.

This continued even after the officer led them to a quieter space nearby, with Dardis repeatedly challenging Sergeant Hafiz to arrest him.

By then, a third police officer had arrived on the scene and they had to repeatedly tell Dardis who they were while Dardis shouted vulgarities at Sergeant Hafiz. 

This went on for a time until Dardis pushed Sergeant Hafiz on the chest.

AFRAID THAT JOB IS AT STAKE

During the hearing, Dardis’ lawyer, Mr Shashi Nathan of Withers Khattarwong, said that his client had gone to the club to drink because he was feeling stressed with work and troubles at home. 

The bank where he worked was not mentioned, but the court heard that he has lived in Singapore for 14 years.

Mr Shashi said that Dardis is afraid he might now lose his job as a result of the criminal proceedings. 

Although he has been suffering from anxiety disorder since he was 20, an Institute of Mental Health report stated that there was no causal link between the disorder and his offence.

Rather, it was caused by his severe alcohol intoxication.

The lawyer added that Dardis was a “good-hearted individual” who never failed to offer help to the community, but DPP Ng responded by saying that anyone who breaches the law should expect to face the consequences regardless of their past deeds. 

Addressing the court directly via a video link from prison, where he has been remanded since Monday, Dardis said that he was ashamed of what he did and is remorseful.

He also sought the forgiveness of the court and asked for a chance to apologise to Sergeant Hafiz personally.

“I’m 48. Up until this incident, I’ve never had this kind of issue with the police in any of the countries I’ve lived in,” he said.  

“From a young age, I’ve always respected what the law stands for and the hard work the police do in every country. I am totally ashamed of this incident (and it’s) totally outside of my character.”

For using criminal force on a public servant, Dardis could have been jailed up to four years or fined, or both.

The maximum penalty for insulting a public servant is a fine of up to S$5,000 or a jail term of up to 12 months, or both.