[ad_1]
London: A 23-year-old Indian man in the UK has been sentenced to eight months in prison for lying about having Covid-19 and spitting on a police custody officer, in the first such case heard in a British court.
Karan Singh, of Croydon in South London, pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court to three counts of assault on an emergency worker, use of words / threatening / abusive / insulting behavior to cause harassment / alarm / distress and possession of the Class B or prohibited. cannabis drug.
He was sentenced last week to four months in prison and also to an additional four-month sentence, for running consecutively, for violating a suspended sentence, which makes his total sentence eight months.
“It is never acceptable to spit on an emergency worker, whether during these unprecedented times or not,” said Superintendent Dan Knowles of the Metropolitan Police Southern Area Command.
Singh carrying out this vile act and then lying about having coronaviruses was deplorable and caused great distress to officers and staff who were only trying to do their jobs and keep London safe. Offenders who think this is “Something acceptable to doing will be arrested and brought to court, and a prison sentence is a likely outcome, “he said.
Judge Alice Robinson chaired the hearing last Friday, during which she indicated that such cases will not be taken lightly.
On March 14, uniformed officers were on patrol when they saw Singh sitting in a car on a driveway in Croydon.
They recognized him as disqualified from driving and approached the car and spoke to him. Singh denied having been disqualified from driving and stated that his license had been returned to him.
As officers spoke to him, they noticed a strong cannabis smell coming from him and the vehicle and asked about the smell and he admitted to smoking cannabis.
When one of the officers began explaining the reasons for a search under the UK Drug Abuse Act, Singh attempted to start the vehicle’s engine and exit the police. However, the vehicle stopped and officers were able to stop it. Officers found a bag of cannabis at the driver’s foot and Singh admitted to having cannabis for personal use.
Singh was arrested on suspicion of possession of a Class B drug. Upon searching the car, nine other bags were found. Singh was taken to a South London police station, where he verbally abused the interviewing officers, the Met Police said.
After the interview, Singh became “aggressive” and stated that he would not return to his cell. A custody sergeant and a PC physically detained him, and a DC and a Designated Detention Officer (DDO) also intervened to support his colleagues.
Once at the cell door, Singh continued to fight the officers.
Officers managed to get him to the cell, and when the door was partially closed, Singh spat directly into the custody sergeant’s face.
Some of the saliva also hit the DDO’s lip and DC’s cheek.
Singh then tried to prevent officers from closing the cell door, during which he told the custodial sergeant that he had a coronavirus. He was then arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker.
After the incident, Singh was interviewed behind his cell door for security reasons. He admitted to spitting at officers saying he did so because he had been waiting for hours and “became stressed.” When asked if he had coronavirus, he admitted not and said he said it because he was angry.
At the conclusion of the interview, Singh was asked if he had anything he wanted to say and said, “Sorry for the officers.”
The custody sergeant had to go to the hospital for check-ups and had some vaccines (none related to Covid-19).
Support the daily wage earners who have been most affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Click here to contribute to the cause. #IndiaGives
The Daily Bulletin News18 Coronavirus COVID-19: Get your copy here.
Subscribe to News18 Daybreak. Follow us Twitter,
Instagram
Facebook,
Telegram,
TikTok and in
Youtube
First Anniversary Offer: Sign up for the Moneycontrol PRO Annual Plan for ₹ 1 / – per day for the first year and claim exclusive benefits worth ₹ 20,000. Coupon Code: PRO365
[ad_2]