10 days' jail for man who put MBS security officer in chokehold in elevator

CNA

06-06-2025

SINGAPORE: After a night of drinking, a man making a nuisance of himself at a Marina Bay Sands (MBS) club was escorted out by security officers.
As the group was in a lift, Konstantin Gavrilov turned around and struck an officer in the face.
He then placed the victim in a chokehold while other security officers tried to drag him off.
Gavrilov, 45, was sentenced to 10 days' jail on Friday (Jun 6). He had earlier pleaded guilty to causing hurt to the victim.
The Singapore permanent resident and Russian national who was employed as a risk manager had attended a corporate function event at Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 1 on the night of Nov 29, 2023.
He consumed about five 330ml glasses of beer while he was there.
Later, Gavrilov was invited to a drinking session at Ce La Vi, a restaurant and bar at MBS. He accepted the invitation and consumed vodka there. Subsequently, he headed to the club Avenue in the basement of MBS.
At some point before 4.51am on Nov 30, 2023, he knocked into some patrons at the nightclub and was escorted out by a few security officers for the disturbance.
The victim, a 51-year-old part-time security officer at MBS who had been working there for five years, came to lend a hand.
Three security officers, including the victim, then led Gavrilov into the lift for the purposes of escorting him out. An unknown woman who went to the club entered the lift as well.
While in the elevator, the victim held onto Gavrilov and told him to calm down. He released Gavrilov after the latter appeared to be calm.
Without warning, Gavrilov swung his right arm and struck the victim in his face. He then wrapped the same arm around the victim's neck to hold him in a chokehold while dragging him around.
The victim, who fell, felt dizzy and numb in his face. His spectacles broke as a result of the initial strike.
The other two officers tried to pull Gavrilov off the victim without success.
As the elevator reached the first floor, an officer ran out to seek help, but the other officer managed to pull Gavrilov off the victim.
Some officers pinned him to a wall while another called the police for assistance. A party of police officers arrived at 5.50am and placed Gavrilov under arrest. He was then escorted to the Police Cantonment Complex.
While there, Gavrilov provided a blood sample, which was found to contain 204mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.
Closed-circuit television cameras within the elevator captured the scuffle, which lasted about 31 seconds.
The victim went to rest but did not seek medical attention. His broken spectacles cost S$15 (US$12) to repair, and Gavrilov has repaid him this amount.