A 53-year-old American professor, Jeffrey David Davis, has been sentenced to three weeks' jail for hurling vulgarities and racial slurs at the Singapore police.

This was after they woke him up at a bus stop while he was inebriated.

According to Today, the incident took place on March 3 at around 6:30pm, at a bus stop along River Valley Road.

A professor from San Francisco State University at the time of his arrest, Davis had arrived in Singapore on Feb. 13 to explore job opportunities here.

Wanted to take Uber home but fell asleep at bus stop

Davis had gone to the bus stop, hoping that a bus driver could take him back to his accommodation at Killiney Road, after discovering that the Uber app did not work on his phone.

However, he fell asleep instead and was woken up by the police.

They had been called after a bus commuter reported seeing a man "passed out" at the bus stop.

Turned abusive and violent

Davis turned abusive towards a female police officer, Sergeant Lim Yi Hui, and screamed vulgarities and racial slurs such as "I am a f***ing professor, you f***ing n*****."

He also spat at Lim's face and arm.

Davis also kicked another police officer, Ruzshahfil Ngirwan on the right shin, after he was brought to Tanglin Police Division and secured to a metal railing while being checked for prohibited items.

Davis' lawyer, Sim Bing Wen of Drew & Napier, argued that Davis actions were "defensive" as the police were trying to draw blood from him and that Davis was unsure of his location and the intention behind the use of the needle.

Sim also elaborated that Davis had no intention to cause issues for anybody and that he had not been in full control of his reactions to his surroundings.

Sent email of gratitude to police after incident

Davis was "wracked with guilt", according to his lawyer, after learning what he had done to the police officers.

Davis wrote a letter dated March 9 to the police for their professionalism in handling the incident.

The letter stated:

"The respectful demeanour that your staff bestowed upon me on March 3-4 is deeply appreciated and speaks volumes about the fine nature and character of you and your team."

Davis also sent a statement to the Attorney-General’s Chambers, expressing remorse and regret for the situation, and describing himself as a "gentle traveller" among other things.

Breakdown of charges

For his verbal abuse of the police, Davis was charged under the Protection from Harassment Act (POHA) and sentenced to two weeks' jail.

Under the penal code, the maximum penalty for verbally abusing a public servant is 12 months and a S$5,000 fine.

As for spitting on Lim, he was sentenced to four weeks' jail.

The maximum penalty for such an act is either a jail term of up to four years, or a fine, or both.

Meanwhile, his kick on Ruzshahfil saw him sentenced to eight weeks' imprisonment for voluntarily causing hurt.

The maximum penalty for the act is either a jail term of up to seven years, or with a fine, or with caning, or possibly a combination of these three punishments.

The sentence for the charge under POHA will run concurrently with his punishments for the other two sentences, so Davis will serve 12 weeks in jail in total.

Top photo by Matthias Ang.