Greenwich teenager assaults Southeastern ticket inspectors at Kent train station
A Greenwich teenager has been fined £300 after assaulting three Southeastern ticket inspectors at a train station last year. Hasan Sasmaz was sentenced at Bexley Magistrates’ Court today (Thursday, September 19) for the incident that occurred at Sittingbourne train station on August 2, 2023.
The 19-year-old of Bostall Lane in Abbey Wood, South London, pleaded guilty to three charges of assault in May this year. The incident took place when the teenager attempted to evade paying a train fare and led to Mr Sasmaz punching a revenue enforcement officer in the face and grabbing another by their throat, which District Judge Karen Hammond described as 'nasty and violent' assaults.
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Prosecutor Sophie Young said one of the enforcement officers claimed Mr Sasmaz had demonstrated a 'shocking level of violence' as well as a determination to hurt his colleagues. The court heard that the injuries sustained by the officers were not permanent.
Defence counsel Vicky Payton said Mr Sasmaz was 'embarrassed by his actions' and that he had been misunderstood. She added that he wished to pursue training and was interested in the construction industry.
'I apologise for my actions and I am going to change my life'
Mr Sasmaz said: "I apologise for my actions and I am going to change my life. They didn’t let me go and they grabbed me so in self-defence I obviously started [fighting back]."
Judge Hammond said that Mr Sasmaz had accepted he did not act in self-defence when he pleaded guilty to the charges earlier this year. However, she said she acknowledged that the teenager was only 17 years old when he committed the offences and she had considered the relevant guidelines for sentencing young people.
Judge Hammond said: "Maturity is not magically conferred on a young person the moment they turn 18."
Mr Sasmaz must complete 120 hours of unpaid work under a 12-month community order. He must also pay £100 in compensation for each officer that he assaulted, totalling £300 which will be deducted from his benefits.
Judge Hammond said: "The public would be rightly appalled by the casual and routine violence that those in a public role encounter… This turned out to be a very expensive rail journey indeed."
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