Tube passenger handed £210 fine for spitting on Polish man in 'racist' outburst
Piccadilly line: stock image. Getty
Handing a female Tube passenger a £210 fine after she hurled 'fascist' insults at commuters, a judge said he was powerless to give the woman a jail term.
The Daily Mail reports that Rebecca Afeigan, 29, was told she deserved to be sent to prison after she abused fellow passengers and forced the suspension of the Piccadilly line.
She kicked and spat at a Polish man because she could not understand his accent and told a black man to 'go home to Africa'.
Her vile outburst continued until Tube staff were forced to evacuate the train while police were called to the scene.
District Judge Michael Snow told her: 'On a packed commuter train, you racially abused someone because of the colour of their skin. You racially abused a second person because, with his accent, it was not immediately obvious he was speaking English.
'You used a classic fascist reply of: "You are here taking our jobs and taking our money".
'How rich to hear something like that from someone like you.
'This is a society based on tolerance, and that's what is its strength. You have made no contribution to society, you regularly take from it, are still abusing drugs and assaulting our citizens.
'When someone behaves like you, it trashes the image we have held out to the world'.
According to the Daily Mail, the judge went on to brand the woman a national embarrassment and lamented the fact he could not send her to prison.
Afeigan, a cocaine and alcohol addict, was told she has an 'appalling' criminal record of 18 convictions but the maximum penalty the judge could give her for her latest crime was a fine.
She launched her attack after accusing the black man of pushing her on a Piccadilly Line train between Manor House and Turnpike Lane.
Prosecutor Darren Watts told Westminster Magistrates' Court: 'A Polish man spoke out and told the defendant her behaviour was not acceptable. The defendant then racially abused this man, saying he was taking jobs and was a drain on the system.
'When the train pulled into Turnpike Lane station, Afeigan, who is also black, told the Polish man to "get off the train", but when he refused she began kicking him and spitting at him. She was also heard to say "I will stab you in the face". Staff had to clear the whole train of passengers as the defendant refused to get off.'
Afeigan was arrested by officers waiting for the train at Arnos Grove station.
When she tried to apologise for her actions, Judge Snow said: 'Talk is cheap. You are violent and a racist, in my opinion, and ought to be going to prison'.
She was fined £210, ordered to pay £85 costs and a £15 victim surcharge after pleading guilty to racially aggravated harassment. Afeigan will pay £10 every two weeks until the fine is cleared and faces jail if fails to pay.
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