A video of an alleged drunk Australian man fighting officers at Singapore’s Changi Airport surfaced last month, just one in a string of four separate incidents around the city.
In the airport video, taken by Ben Bonifant, Darragh is seen struggling to fight off airport officers while they try to arrest him. Darragh, who was believed to be drunk, was also accused of swearing at and hitting an officer in the face and threatening another by saying, “You don’t come near me or I’ll break your face.”
According to Yahoo News Australia, Darragh’s “crime spree” first started on April 20 when he allegedly threw a man’s mobile phone on the floor and yelled vulgarities at him.
Darragh was released after paying his bail, but within the course of ten days, he repeatedly caused an “annoyance” while out in public, according to court documents. Darragh is now being detained on 11 charges including using criminal force on officers and using profanities with them, according to The New Paper.
Lorraine Finlay, a Murdoch University international law lecturer, said that Darragh could face up to seven years in prison, pay a fine, and face caning after assaulting a public officers which is considered a serious offense in Singapore.
Darragh will be back on court on Friday. Meanwhile, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed that they will be giving consular assistance to him.
Finlay also pointed out that Australia doesn’t have an international prisoners’ transfer arrangement with Singapore, meaning if Darragh is sentenced to jail, he will have to serve the entire sentence there.
