Man jailed for eight months after lying about having coronavirus and spitting at custody staff

A man has been jailed after he spat at police custody staff and lied about having Covid-19 because he was ‘angry.’

Karan Singh, 23, of Homestead Way, Croydon, pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court on Friday to three counts of assault on an emergency worker, use of threatening/abusive/insulting words/behaviour to cause harassment/alarm/distress and possession of a class B drug (cannabis).

He was sentenced immediately afterwards to four months’ imprisonment. He was also sentenced to an additional four months’ imprisonment, to run consecutively, for being in breach of a suspended sentence – making his total sentence eight months.

On March 14, uniformed officers were on patrol when they spotted Singh sitting in a car in a driveway in Lower Addiscombe Road, Croydon.

Officers recognised Singh as being disqualified from driving and so they approached the car and spoke to him.

Singh denied he was disqualified from driving and said he had been given his licence back. As officers were speaking to Singh, they noticed a strong smell of cannabis coming from him and the vehicle. Officers asked him about the smell and he admitted smoking cannabis.

As one of the officers began explaining the grounds for a search under the Misuse of Drugs Act, Singh attempted to start the engine of the vehicle and make off from police.

But the vehicle stalled and officers were able to detain him. Officers found a snap bag of cannabis in the driver’s foot well and Singh admitted to having cannabis for personal use.

Singh was arrested on suspicion of possession of a class B drug. Upon searching the car, a further nine bags were found.

Singh was taken to a South London police station where he was verbally abusive to the interviewing officers.

Following the interview, Singh became aggressive and stated that he would not go back to his cell. He had to be physically taken back by a custody sergeant and PC, with a DC and Designated Detention Officer (DDO) also stepping in to support their colleagues.

Once at the cell door, Singh continued to struggle with the officers. The officers managed to get him into the cell and when the door was partially closed, Singh spat directly into the custody sergeant’s face. Some of the spit also hit the DDO’s lip and the DC’s cheek.

Singh then tried to prevent officers from closing the cell door, during which he told the custody sergeant that he had coronavirus. He was further arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker.

This was the first Covid-19 related assault to be heard at Croydon Crown Court, with Her Honour Judge Robinson indicating that these cases will not be taken lightly.

Superintendent Dan Knowles, of South Area Command, said: “It is never acceptable to spit at an emergency worker, whether it is during these unprecedented times or not.

“Singh carrying out this vile act and then lying about having coronavirus was a deplorable thing to do and it caused a great deal of distress for the officers and staff who were just trying to do their job and keep London safe.

“Offenders who think this is an acceptable thing to do will be arrested and placed before the courts, and a prison sentence is a likely outcome.”