Man fined for pushing, insulting restaurant manager in 'racially charged' rant

SINGAPORE: A man who made a scene at a restaurant and insulted the manager in a racially charged tirade that was uploaded to social media was fined S$5,500 (US$4,100) by a court on Monday (Jan 8).

Greg Austin Lynn, a 54-year-old American, pleaded guilty to one count of using criminal force and another of using abusive words. Another two charges were considered in sentencing.

Lynn had been slated to go to trial but decided on Monday morning that he would accept the charges.

The incident happened at Shashlik Restaurant in Far East Shopping Centre on Jun 18 last year.

Before he went down to the Russian-Hainanese restaurant, Lynn called and was told by the victim, restaurant manager Tan Tong Kein, that the last order would be taken at 9pm.

Mr Tan reiterated this in another call but Lynn was unhappy at being disturbed, the prosecutor said.

At about 9pm that night, Lynn arrived at the restaurant and was received by Mr Tan, who explained that the kitchen was already closed.

In a sequence of events captured on closed-circuit television footage, Lynn pushed Mr Tan on the chest, causing the restaurant manager to stumble backwards.

Mr Tan asked the other employees to call the police, but Lynn continued to speak loudly and use vulgarities, drawing the attention of an off-duty police officer who sat him down and spoke to him.

However, when another customer confronted Lynn at about 9.10pm, he stood up and responded. Footage played in court showed Lynn squaring up against Mr Tan, who had intervened.

Among the things Lynn said in an expletive-laden outburst was: "I will drop every f***ing last one of you." He left when the police arrived.

Lynn looked down as the video was played in court.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ryan Lim asked for the maximum fine of S$5,000 for the abusive words charge and another S$500 fine for using criminal force.

Mr Lim said the words used were "highly insulting and abusive" and that there was an element of violence when Lynn said "I will drop every last one of you".

He also insulted the victim's family, threatened to harm his business and ended his tirade with "racially charged language", said Mr Lim.

The prosecutor said the manner in which Lynn communicated these words to the victim was highly aggressive.

"The video speaks for itself," he said. "We can see that the accused was face to face with the victim and shouting at the victim."

Mr Lim added that Lynn said those words in a public place where there were families and children, causing alarm and concern to other patrons.

However, he noted Lynn's guilty plea and said he was "on balance" asking for a fine rather than a jail term.

LYNN SPEAKS

Lynn interjected the prosecutor's submissions and said he would like to accept the high fine.

Additionally, he said he wanted to offer restitution of S$3,000 to the restaurant.

"The reason I stayed in the restaurant was because I asked the police to come to help, you know, sort out the situation," said Lynn, who was unrepresented.

"I was trying to get there before the last call and I had not made an appointment, and the restaurant owner, he called me back a couple of times saying your reservation is cancelled. I said I didn't make a reservation, I'm just going to get to the restaurant if it's open, last order fine, if not no problem," said Lynn.

"And so when I got to the restaurant, I just wanted to see the restaurant, because I had mentioned to him earlier on the phone that we were looking for a restaurant to have a party for this Ukraine-Russia war, so I just wanted to see it and I wanted to see the menu, so we did not want to eat. It was already past last order, all I wanted to do was to see the menu," explained Lynn.

He said that was why he sat at the table, waiting for a menu and speaking with the off-duty police officer.

"I'm trying to figure out how I got so angry," said Lynn. "Maybe it's culture shock. Miscommunication. Timing. Also I don't know if this will make a criminal record for me, but if there is a way I can be on probation for six months and do some community service or something like that, I'd appreciate that. As well as, I'm willing to make S$3,000 restitution to the restaurant owner."

The prosecutor said he would not be making any formal application for Lynn to make restitution but noted he had shown remorse. He objected to probation.

The judge meted out a fine of S$5,500, which Lynn paid.

For using abusive words, he could have been jailed for up to six months, fined up to S$5,000, or both.

For using criminal force, he could have been jailed for up to three months, fined up to S$1,500, or both.