A man has been jailed for two years following an attack on a man – who was holding his boyfriend’s hand – in which he glassed the victim’s face and cornea.
In an unprovoked attack, Anjungi Lam, 35 (28.4.82) of Addington Road, Croydon glassed a man in the face, after seeing him holding his male partner’s hand at a pub in Peckham, London.
Lam admitted grievous bodily harm at Inner London Crown Court on Friday, 23 June and was sentenced on Friday, 17 November.
On Sunday, 5 March at around 22:30hrs the victim and his 20-year-old boyfriend arrived holding hands at the Kentish Drovers pub in Peckham High Street, Southwark SE15.
They went to the bar and were deciding what drinks to buy when suddenly, Lam then raced towards the victim and smashed a pint glass against the right side of his face, cutting his nose, lip and neck, chipping his tooth and injuring his cornea. Flying glass also hit his boyfriend in the eye.
Lam then ran out of the pub. Lam was quickly identified via CCTV; he had worked for the pub for three months before being sacked for lateness.
He was arrested on Friday, 19 May and subsequently charged.
Investigating officer PC Lance Sharrock, from Southwark’s Community Safety Unit, said: “This was an entirely unprovoked incident. Lam did not know the victim or his partner, they had not spoken nor had any disagreement to provoke such a violent attack.
“The victims felt Lam must have been motivated by homophobia as they entered the pub holding hands and we began a hate crime investigation.
“Lam was quickly identified and I am pleased at his sentence which shows that incidents of this nature will not be tolerated.”
+ Lam was jailed for an additional year for a number of separate offences not linked to the GBH; actual bodily harm, assault by beating, theft and having an offensive weapon.
