US submariner arrested for assault at 5-star hotel
A crew member from the US nuclear-powered submarine the USS Hampton was arrested for assaulting an employee at a five-star hotel in Queensway yesterday.
Officers were sent to the JW Marriott hotel when the incident happened at about 5.30am. The 26-year-old man was accused of breaking a glass table and assaulting hotel staff, according to police. A hotel worker, aged 34, suffered injuries to the face and nose.
Hotel staff told police the suspect had a strong smell of alcohol when he was subdued at the scene.
Police arrested the man for criminal damage and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. A hotel spokesman said: 'He was drunk. He broke the coffee table accidentally. As our security guard approached and tried to find out what happened, they had a scuffle.'
The spokeswoman added that the man was a hotel guest and the incident happened in the foyer of the third-floor ballroom. She said the hotel did not pursue the case because the client agreed to pay for the damage. The crewman and the injured guard were taken to Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam.
A US consulate spokesman said: 'We are aware of an alleged incident involving a crew member from USS Hampton. We have co-operated fully with the police.'
A police spokeswoman said last night the man had been handed over to the US Navy after seeking advice from the Department of Justice as the people concerned had no plan to pursue.
The USS Hampton, which is making a port call to Hong Kong, is now anchored alongside its service ship, the USS Frank Cable. It is first such port call by one of the American navy's most sensitive assets since the USS Asheville visited in mid-July 2008.
The visit comes ahead of the arrival later this month of US aircraft carrier the Carl Vinson - the ship used to bury Osama bin Laden at sea.