British tourist, 43, jailed 6 weeks & fined S$1,000 for assaulting MBS assistant manager & destroying flowerpot

A British citizen, Jonathan David Lowe, 43, was sentenced to six weeks' jail and fined S$1,000 on Oct. 17, 2024, after he pleaded guilty to one count of public nuisance and one count of voluntarily causing hurt.

This was after he assaulted several people, including a staff member, and destroyed a flowerpot in Marina Bay Sands (MBS).

Four other charges of hurting other members of public were taken into consideration, The Straits Times reported.

At the time of the offence this year, Lowe was working as a company director of Keylon Interiors and he was in Singapore as a tourist for the Formula One race.

Charges of hurting members of public

On Sep. 21, 2024, at around 8pm, Lowe had been consuming alcohol with his colleagues and clients at a rooftop bar at Marina Bay Sands (MBS).

He had downed two cups of whiskey.

At around 10:41pm, as seen in closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, Lowe entered a lift with five other men.

The five men had just left Ce La Vi, a club on the roof of MBS.

In the lift, Lowe was seen folding his arms, then stretching both of his arms upwards.

He then assaulted four of the five men by slapping and punching their heads and faces.

Two of the four men tried to stop Lowe, but he continued his assault by repeatedly punching their heads.

When the lift came to a stop, all five men ran out, with Lowe in pursuit.

The four men who were assaulted did not sustain serious injuries and did not seek medical treatment.

At 10:57pm, a security officer called the police.

They were notified that four guests were assaulted by a man in MBS.

Offence of public nuisance

At around 10:58pm, Lowe was at a B2 lift lobby in MBS.

He pulled out an orchid plant still attached to a red-colour flowerpot and threw the flowerpot on the ground.

He then flung the flowerpot into an opened lift carriage, and entered the lift with the ornament pot that the orchid and red-colour flowerpot was originally in.

As the lift was going up, Lowe intended to throw the flowerpot out of the lift.

Lowe stopped when he saw a member of public waiting to enter the lift.

Lowe exited the lift with the flowerpot at level four of MBS and threw it on the ground at the lift lobby.

The assault

At 11:12pm, Lowe returned to the lift lobby at level four of MBS.

According to court documents, Lowe approached a 28-year-old assistant manager at MBS who was using his handphone.

Lowe punched the victim and he fell backwards and hit the wall.

The victim was on the ground when Lowe punched his head at least five times.

Lowe kicked and stomped on the victim's head when he tried to get up.

When the victim tried to escape, Lowe continued to punch the his head, and kicked him, causing him to stumble.

The victim was sent to Singapore General Hospital via ambulance, and transferred to Mount Elizabeth Orchard for medical treatment.

The victim sustained a head injury, and was given seven days of hospitalisation leave.

Lowe's defence

According to ST, the deputy public prosecutor asked Lowe to be fined for the flowerpot incident and to be jailed eight to 10 weeks for the assault on the MBS assistant manager.

Lowe’s lawyer requested for a fine instead of imprisonment.

He mentioned that Lowe had received several testimonials for his good character, reported ST.

The defence lawyer also noted that Lowe even went to check if his old head injury was the cause of his behaviour, but the results showed that there was no link.

He also said that Lowe was apologetic and offered the victim compensation.

The deputy public prosecutor called the attack "unprovoked" and the assault "brutal".

Top photos from Marina Bay Sands, and Canva