A 30-year-old Somali asylum seeker who spat at a police officer while staying at a migrant hotel in Bournemouth has been given a 12-month conditional discharge, Poole Magistrates' Court ruled.
Magistrates heard that Shafi Momad pleaded guilty to assaulting an emergency worker after officers were called to the Roundhouse hotel in Bournemouth where he was said to be "very angry" and intoxicated. Prosecutors told the court Momad had drunk half a bottle of vodka and beers and that, as PC Browning tried to restrain him, the defendant made a visible effort to spit which landed on the officer's hand.
Court documents and statements read at the hearing said Momad was arrested and charged with assault on an emergency worker. He was already subject to a six-week suspended prison sentence for a religiously aggravated assault on a member of the public, but magistrates were told the spitting incident occurred before that earlier offence was sentenced in March and therefore could not be taken into consideration when issuing sanction for the new offence.
Magistrate chair Paul Kemp described assaulting an emergency worker as "a serious matter" but said he would impose a conditional discharge, warning Momad that any further offences during the next 12 months could lead to punishment for both new and existing charges. Because of Momad's limited financial means, the officer would be entitled to £50 in compensation and the defendant was not ordered to pay court costs or a surcharge.
Prosecuting counsel Nicola Reece said officers were called after reports of a disturbance at the hotel and additional units were asked to assist in restraining the male involved. Mitigating, Deborah Scudamore told the court Momad had apologised and said he had been assaulted and left with a bloodied eye before police arrived. She said he was angry because he believed the police had not properly investigated the alleged assault against him, and that he accepted he had a problem with alcohol. Scudamore also said Momad had been in the United Kingdom since 2020 and was not permitted to work, which contributed to periods of depression.
The Roundhouse is one of several historic hotels in Bournemouth that have been used to accommodate people seeking asylum. Local reporting has linked a number of criminal charges to residents at those hotels. Published accounts state that, in one area alone, the Roundhouse and the nearby Britannia hotel accounted for some 91 criminal charges against migrants staying there, while an additional 25 charges were reported at the Chine hotel. Those figures were reported to involve a total of 116 charges brought against 51 asylum seekers across the three seafront hotels.
The use of hotels to house asylum seekers has prompted demonstrations in Bournemouth in recent months and heightened local concern about safety and policing. Organised protests outside the accommodation and heightened police and security patrols in the area were reported during the summer.
Momad's conditional discharge means no immediate further punishment for the spitting offence, but court officials noted the order remains in force for 12 months and any subsequent offending could lead to renewed prosecution and penalties for the present charge.
Poole Magistrates' Court heard the case this week. No additional sentencing hearing date was listed in court records relating to the spitting offence.