Letterkenny Restaurant owner jailed for injuring a customer in row
A restaurant owner has been jailed for a year after he assaulted and injured a man in a 'geopolitical' row at his Indian takeaway.
Prabhjot Singh denied assaulting Dubliner Shane Dalton at his Taste of India restaurant in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, after objecting to the victim speaking Urdu in the early hours of May 7, 2022.
Letterkenny District Court heard Mr Dalton couldn't properly open his eye for a week after being slapped and punched by Singh. Mr Dalton had flown to Donegal with his boyfriend and sister for a weekend away to celebrate his sister's birthday. Letterkenny. Pic: Getty
The three had gone for drinks and dinner before going out on the town and ended up in the Taste of India for a late meal at 3.40am. The court heard how Mr Dalton, who is half Pakistani, was chatting with his boyfriend, Robert Shevlin, in the takeaway and using the Urdu language—a major language of South Asia, specifically spoken in Pakistan and India.
Mr Dalton told the court that he was using 'curse words' in Urdu, such as 'motherf****r', but insisted he was joking with his boyfriend in a private conversation.
He said Singh came out from behind the counter and took offence at Urdu being spoken, asking Mr Dalton how he knew the language.
A confrontation occurred, and the court was told Singh slapped Mr Dalton in the face, followed by punches, before the customer fell onto several chairs.
Detective Garda Eimear Hassett told the court she was called to the scene and found Mr Dalton with what appeared to be blood on a white sleeveless top, a swollen face and a cut above his left eye. Letterkenny University Hospital (Pic: PA)
Both men pointed through the window of the premises to the culprit as being a man wearing a blue T-shirt, who turned out to be Prabhjot Singh, now aged 38.
Mr Dalton was taken to hospital by ambulance, received treatment for his injuries and flew back home to Dublin the following day.
The victim and Mr Shevlin then both attended their local Garda station in Ballyfermot, where they made statements about the incident.
Both Mr Dalton and Mr Shevlin told the court their version of events on the night, as did Singh.
Mr Dalton said that after he was cursing in Urdu with his boyfriend, a man approached him from behind the counter, took him to one side and asked him how he knew how to speak this language. Pic: Shutterstock
He explained he was half Pakistani, but the man said he was being so disrespectful and gave him 'a big huge hard slap'.
Mr Dalton said the assailant then punched him twice, got him in a headlock, asked him what he was going to do and called him 'a p***y'.
The victim said he went unconscious before waking up with several men standing around him, and as he left, they shouted abuse at him, calling him a 'P**i bastard' and other names.
Mr Dalton's now-husband, Mr Shevlin, admitted they had been drinking over the course of the day and might have been intoxicated.
'I do believe we were intoxicated, but I don't believe that is relevant, and I don't believe we deserved to be assaulted,' he added.
He said he did not believe there was any malicious intent in his partner's cursing in Urdu, saying it was 'not a public announcement but a private conversation'.
He also claimed that, while Mr Dalton was being assaulted, Singh shouted 'f***ing Muslims'.
Solicitor Rory O'Brien asked Mr Shevlin if he really believed the row was due to a 'geopolitical' issue and that his client was so incensed because Mr Dalton was a Pakistani national that he was going to 'get it'.
'I would suggest this is highly implausible and a fantastical version of events,' said Mr O'Brien.
The accused claimed Mr Dalton was leaning on the counter, shouting at staff in Urdu, calling them 'motherf****rs' and 'bastards' and asking where they were from.
Singh said he eventually went over to Mr Dalton and told him he could not speak to his staff like that and asked him to leave. He said Mr Dalton was very drunk, at one stage fell back and broke the glass of the fire alarm.
He admitted he pushed Mr Dalton, as he was coming towards him and claimed this was when he fell on some chairs and hurt himself.
The accused said he had nothing against Pakistani people and even had some working for him.
But he claimed that when Mr Dalton mentioned the situation in the disputed region of Kashmir, he was asked to leave.
Garda Inspector Séamus McGonigle asked Singh why there was no security on the night and no CCTV on the premises.
Singh said he usually had security, but it was getting harder to find people to work, and also, there were renovations taking place, and there was no CCTV available at the time.
Inspector McGonigle suggested Singh took an instant dislike to Mr Dalton when he started to speak Urdu, and because he is a Pakistani national.
'You flipped and you assaulted him and chased him and assaulted him again. And all because you flipped because you don't like his nationality,' said Inspector McGonigle.
Judge Ciarán Liddy was satisfied the prosecution had proved their case and fully accepted their version of events, that Singh 'took the law into his own hands' and that a conviction was warranted.
Asked about Singh's personal circumstances, Judge Liddy was told he is a 38-year-old father of two who is clearly a family man and that he runs a business in the town and does his best for his family. He has no relevant previous convictions.
The judge noted this was a vicious assault perpetrated against Mr Dalton on a night out.
He added that Singh decided to take matters into his own hands and dispense the justice he felt should be dispensed when there were other ways of dealing with the situation.
He placed the assault at the upper end of the scale of what district courts are expected to deal with before cases are sent to the circuit court, and said it merited a 12-month prison term.
Singh's legal team said they would appeal the sentence.
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Mr Dalton told the court that he was using 'curse words' in Urdu, such as 'motherf****r', but insisted he was joking with his boyfriend in a private conversation. He said Singh came out from behind the counter and took offence at Urdu being spoken, asking Mr Dalton how he knew the language. A confrontation occurred, and the court was told Singh slapped Mr Dalton in the face, followed by punches, before the customer fell onto several chairs. Detective Garda Eimear Hassett told the court she was called to the scene and found Mr Dalton with what appeared to be blood on a white sleeveless top, a swollen face and a cut above his left eye. Letterkenny University Hospital (Pic: PA) Both men pointed through the window of the premises to the culprit as being a man wearing a blue T-shirt, who turned out to be Prabhjot Singh, now aged 38. Mr Dalton was taken to hospital by ambulance, received treatment for his injuries and flew back home to Dublin the following day. The victim and Mr Shevlin then both attended their local Garda station in Ballyfermot, where they made statements about the incident. Both Mr Dalton and Mr Shevlin told the court their version of events on the night, as did Singh. Mr Dalton said that after he was cursing in Urdu with his boyfriend, a man approached him from behind the counter, took him to one side and asked him how he knew how to speak this language. Pic: Shutterstock He explained he was half Pakistani, but the man said he was being so disrespectful and gave him 'a big huge hard slap'. Mr Dalton said the assailant then punched him twice, got him in a headlock, asked him what he was going to do and called him 'a p***y'. The victim said he went unconscious before waking up with several men standing around him, and as he left, they shouted abuse at him, calling him a 'P**i bastard' and other names. Mr Dalton's now-husband, Mr Shevlin, admitted they had been drinking over the course of the day and might have been intoxicated. 'I do believe we were intoxicated, but I don't believe that is relevant, and I don't believe we deserved to be assaulted,' he added. He said he did not believe there was any malicious intent in his partner's cursing in Urdu, saying it was 'not a public announcement but a private conversation'. He also claimed that, while Mr Dalton was being assaulted, Singh shouted 'f***ing Muslims'. Solicitor Rory O'Brien asked Mr Shevlin if he really believed the row was due to a 'geopolitical' issue and that his client was so incensed because Mr Dalton was a Pakistani national that he was going to 'get it'. 'I would suggest this is highly implausible and a fantastical version of events,' said Mr O'Brien. The accused claimed Mr Dalton was leaning on the counter, shouting at staff in Urdu, calling them 'motherf****rs' and 'bastards' and asking where they were from. Singh said he eventually went over to Mr Dalton and told him he could not speak to his staff like that and asked him to leave. He said Mr Dalton was very drunk, at one stage fell back and broke the glass of the fire alarm. He admitted he pushed Mr Dalton, as he was coming towards him and claimed this was when he fell on some chairs and hurt himself. The accused said he had nothing against Pakistani people and even had some working for him. But he claimed that when Mr Dalton mentioned the situation in the disputed region of Kashmir, he was asked to leave. Garda Inspector Séamus McGonigle asked Singh why there was no security on the night and no CCTV on the premises. Singh said he usually had security, but it was getting harder to find people to work, and also, there were renovations taking place, and there was no CCTV available at the time. Inspector McGonigle suggested Singh took an instant dislike to Mr Dalton when he started to speak Urdu, and because he is a Pakistani national. 'You flipped and you assaulted him and chased him and assaulted him again. And all because you flipped because you don't like his nationality,' said Inspector McGonigle. Judge Ciarán Liddy was satisfied the prosecution had proved their case and fully accepted their version of events, that Singh 'took the law into his own hands' and that a conviction was warranted. Asked about Singh's personal circumstances, Judge Liddy was told he is a 38-year-old father of two who is clearly a family man and that he runs a business in the town and does his best for his family. He has no relevant previous convictions. The judge noted this was a vicious assault perpetrated against Mr Dalton on a night out. He added that Singh decided to take matters into his own hands and dispense the justice he felt should be dispensed when there were other ways of dealing with the situation. He placed the assault at the upper end of the scale of what district courts are expected to deal with before cases are sent to the circuit court, and said it merited a 12-month prison term. Singh's legal team said they would appeal the sentence.
