Briton left with permanent vision injury after confronting man over racist remarks

SINGAPORE — Neil Arora Kant stood up for a stranger and paid a heavy price for it.

The British national was waiting for a taxi after leaving at Oktoberfest event at the Swiss club when he overheard American Samuel William Pettijohn passing racist remarks about an Indian man in the queue.

Kant, who is 49 and also a Singapore permanent resident, confronted Pettijohn over his comments but ended up being punched so hard that it left him with multiple facial fractures. He now suffers from permanent double vision.

At the State Courts on Tuesday (3 September), Pettijohn – who is now 31 – was jailed 20 months after being convicted on one count of voluntarily causing grievous hurt. He was also ordered to pay Kant $1,000 in compensation but will serve an additional week’s jail for foregoing the payment.

The Chatsworth International School employee was found guilty following a trial but intends to appeal against his conviction and sentence.

Said Deputy Public Prosecutor Kelly Ho on Tuesday, “The worst that one would expect from a night of merriment at an Oktoberfest event is perhaps a bad hangover the next morning. However, the victim, Kant, suffered far worse.”

“After being felled by the accused’s punch, Kant drifted in and out of consciousness. He then underwent surgery to reconstruct his eye socket, in the process of which, titanium plates were inserted.”

“Till today and for the rest of his life, Kant suffers from an impairment of his vision.”

The prosecution had sought at least 21 months’ jail for Pettijohn.

Confrontation over racist remarks

At about 1am on 24 September 2017, Kant and his friend left the Swiss Club along Bukit Timah. Pettijohn and his companion also left the venue at around the same time.

While Kant and his friend were waiting in a taxi queue they overheard Pettijohn saying to an Indian man, “Don’t touch me you Indian... you may be allowed to queue like that in your country but you can’t... (behave) like that here.”

According to the prosecution, the duo then stepped in and chided Pettijohn for his remarks. The two groups then argued until security guards intervened and removed Pettijohn from the area.

Kant’s group then left to book an Uber and were heading towards the main road when they encountered Pettijohn and his friend again. At some point, Kant witnessed his friend falling and surmised that he had been pushed by one of the other men.

Afraid that Pettijohn might push or hit someone else, Kant then grabbed hold of the bottom of the latter’s sleeves. Pettijohn then broke free of Kant’s grip and delivered a blow to the left side of Kant’s head.

Kant lost consciousness from blow and Pettijohn immediately fled the scene.

Testifying in court, Kant stated that he had undergone surgery to reconstruct his eye socket using titanium plates and has lost sensation in his face from underneath his nose up to his cheekbone. He also suffers from peripheral double vision and occasional flashbacks of the assault.

Accused of ‘very large build’: DPP

In his own defence, Pettijohn had argued that during the argument at the taxi stand, he had been punched by Kant’s friend. When the two groups met again later, Pettijohn’s friend said “Have a good night” to Kant’s group but received insults in return.

Pettijohn also claimed that he had told Kant to let go of him twice after being grabbed by the latter and said he had struck out at Kant’s body in an attempt to free himself.

However, the prosecution contended that Pettijohn, who is 1.82m tall and weighs 110kg, was a man of “very large build”. He had also formerly worked as a bouncer and firefighter in his home country.

“Putting these factors together, it makes logical sense that (Pettijohn) was able to pull his arm away even before he punched (Kant),” said DPP Ho.

In sentencing Pettijohn, District Judge Mathew Joseph said that this case was a “stark reminder and warning that racist remarks and intoxicated persons are likely to be a volatile and dangerous mix”, which would “inevitably have dire consequences for those involved”.

The judge told Pettijohn it was “astonishing” that his single punch could inflict such serious injuries. “(This) goes to show extreme force and intensity of that single punch. I find that very disturbing,” added DJ Joseph.

For voluntarily causing grievous hurt, Pettijohn could have been jailed up to 10 years, fined, caned or received a combination of punishments.

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