Ibrail Khan initially denied racially aggregated assault but changed his plea to guilty when CCTV footage of the incident emerged. Photo / Getty
Ibrail Khan initially denied racially aggregated assault but changed his plea to guilty when CCTV footage of the incident emerged. Photo / Getty
A jilted diner locked himself in a toilet, racially abused a restaurant manager and assaulted a waiter after his date walked out on him in London.
Ibrail Khan, 32, admitted calling restaurant manager Laura Sanz "fat" and a "f****** Spanish b****" after being asked to foot the bill for drinks and tapas.
Khan, originally from Nelson, arrived at the restaurant at 9pm with a woman who left 45 minutes later.
Khan, himself a restaurant manager, then locked himself in the eaterie's bathroom for 30 minutes before resuming his meal and then abusing staff when he was asked to pay.
He initially denied racially aggregated assault and assaulting waiter Steven Gosnall, but changed his plea to guilty as his trial at City of London Magistrates' Court when CCTV footage of the incident emerged.
The court heard New Zealand-born Khan became abusive when asked to pay the bill at Port House tapas restaurant on The Strand in central London on April 20 this year.
The Port House tapas bar where the trouble began for Khan. Photo / Google
He then refused to pay the bill, racially insulted Miss Sanz and pushed a waiter in the chest when confronted.
Simone Brown, prosecuting, told the court: "At around 9pm the defendant and a woman came into order drinks and food.
"The waiter and assistant manager went to check on the defendant and he told them to go away. Then he came back 10 minutes later and finished the food.
"There was an exchange when Miss Sanz asked him to pay he made reference to her origins, saying 'I'm not paying for the food or drinks, f****** Spanish girl'.
"He then said 'look how fat you are, you must be pregnant, how many babies do you have in there? At least three. He touched her arm and called her a Spanish b****.
"In the melee Steven Gosnall, a waiter, went over to help Miss Sanz and tried to block the defendant from going any further and was pushed in the chest.
"Miss Sanz says she was shocked and stunned by what happened."
Khan admitted racially aggregated assault and assaulting the male waiter, but denied assaulting Miss Sanz and not paying his bill.
Ms Bowman said: "In the interest of justice we are not going forward with the other two charges. We are offering no evidence."
He is not xenophobic and shares a flat with two Spanish people.
Caroline McAdam, defending Khan, said: "Mr Khan was with a female friend who left soon after they arrived.
"He is a man of good character and has never been in the criminal justice system before.
'He is in this restaurant business himself and is appalled that he would use such language. He has found it difficult to accept what he has done.
"He is not xenophobic and shares a flat with two Spanish people so is appalled at what he has said.
"He was very drunk and it was approaching the first anniversary of his father's death. He was preparing to go back to Fiji where his family are from to say prayers.
"He was not eating as well so this coupled with the drinking had an even bigger effect on him. He is very sorry for what he has done."
Khan, of Twickenham, south west London, was fined £340 ($695) for racially aggregated assault as well as being ordered to pay compensation to his victim of £200.
For the assault on Steven Gosnall he was fined £100 and ordered to pay £50 compensation along with court costs of £400 plus a victim surcharge of £34.
Chair of the bench Sonia Henley told him: "This is a very unpleasant incident - to insult a woman like that is quite disgraceful.
