Singapore jails drunk Australian tourist who assaulted security officer after an argument with his partner
- Craig Clive Hilton was on holiday in Singapore with his partner and son, but after an argument, she moved to another room without telling him
- Hilton went out drinking after he did not get information of her whereabouts, returning later and assaulting a security officer who did not provide him details
Affected by alcohol and angry he could not find out which room his partner had moved to after an argument, a tourist assaulted a security officer by pushing him to the ground, then punching and kneeing him in the face.
Craig Clive Hilton, 40, was sentenced to six weeks’ jail on Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing hurt to a security officer under the Private Security Industry Act.
Investigations revealed that on the evening of November 6 this year, Hilton had an argument with his partner who later asked the front desk for another room, a request that was granted.
At about 10.30pm that night, Hilton headed to the front desk to ask where his partner was, but the staff member refused to disclose the information.
Hilton then went out drinking, and returned a few hours later, at around 3:30am.
By then, the employee at the front desk had finished their shift, so Hilton approached Kesavan Rajendran, 25, who was deployed to the location as a private security officer.
Hilton asked Kesavan where his partner was.
He did not disclose the information, and also told Hilton that he was just the security officer.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Daphne Lim said Hilton then pushed Kesavan to the ground and kneed the officer in the face.
When the officer managed to get up, Hilton punched him in the face and continued advancing towards him.
Hilton also started to sweep items off the front desk, but Kesavan managed to retreat and run out of the lobby.
This was all captured on closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, which was played in court.
As Kesavan was being attacked, he smelt alcohol on Hilton’s breath and realised that the Australian was under the influence of alcohol, Lim said.
A call was made to the police about 15 minutes later.
Kesavan was later taken to hospital where he was found to have sustained scratches, mild redness over his left cheek and mild swelling on his lip.
During mitigation, Hilton who was not represented by a lawyer, broke down in tears as he told the court that there was no justification for what he had done.
“There is no excuse for my actions; drinking alcohol like I did, like a coward.
I will not ask for leniency for myself but just for my son and his mum as I have caused my family so much hell
“Seeing my actions in the footage – that is not me, that is not the person I am. I feel so guilty,” Hilton said.
He told the court that he had become drunk and angry after thinking he lost his passport and when he saw Kesavan behind the front desk, he thought the officer looked like he was guilty.
“I can’t remember in detail what happened, but that’s disgusting. I will not ask for leniency for myself but just for my son and his mum as I have caused my family so much hell,” he added.
In delivering his sentence, Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan said it was fortunate the harm suffered by the victim was not severe, as Hilton’s clear aggression and persistence could be seen in the CCTV footage.
For voluntarily causing hurt to a security officer under the Private Security Industry Act, Hilton could have been jailed for up to five years or fined up to S$10,000, (US$7,500) or both.
