A teenager from Greenwich has been fined £300 after being convicted of assaulting three Southeastern ticket inspectors during an altercation at Sittingbourne train station last year.
Hasan Sasmaz, 19, of Bostall Lane in Abbey Wood, was sentenced today (September 19) at Bexley Magistrates’ Court for the incident, which took place on August 2, 2023. Sasmaz had pleaded guilty to three charges of assault in May this year.
The court heard that the altercation began when Sasmaz attempted to evade paying his fare. The situation escalated, resulting in the teenager punching one revenue enforcement officer in the face and grabbing another by the throat. District Judge Karen Hammond condemned the actions as “nasty and violent” assaults.
Prosecutor Sophie Young told the court that one of the inspectors described the level of violence displayed by Sasmaz as “shocking” and that the teenager seemed determined to harm the officers. Fortunately, the injuries sustained by the inspectors were not permanent.
In his defence, Sasmaz’s counsel, Vicky Payton, said that the teenager was “embarrassed by his actions” and that he had been misunderstood during the incident. She added that he was keen to turn his life around and had aspirations to enter the construction industry.
Sasmaz himself expressed remorse, stating: “I apologise for my actions and I am going to change my life. They didn’t let me go, and they grabbed me, so in self-defence, I obviously started [fighting back].”
However, Judge Hammond pointed out that Sasmaz had already admitted that his actions were not in self-defence when he pleaded guilty to the charges. Taking into account that Sasmaz was only 17 at the time of the offence, Judge Hammond remarked, “Maturity is not magically conferred on a young person the moment they turn 18.”
In addition to a 12-month community order requiring Sasmaz to complete 120 hours of unpaid work, he was ordered to pay £100 in compensation to each of the three officers, totalling £300. This amount will be deducted from his benefits.
Judge Hammond concluded: “The public would be rightly appalled by the casual and routine violence that those in a public role encounter… This turned out to be a very expensive rail journey indeed.
