A RECRUITMENT consultant who turned nasty during a champagne-fuelled bender in a trendy Soho restaurant has escaped jail "by a whisker".

A court heard how 24-year-old Rupinder Singh, of Bromley, became violent after he realised he could not pay for an "exorbitant" drinking spree with two pals in the Titanic Restaurant.

The trio ran up a £900 tab as they sank bottle after bottle of champagne, after beginning the evening on vodka cocktails.

By the time the drinking spree had ended, the men had consumed four bottles of Dom Perignon at £150 a time. They had also polished off two bottles of Laurent Rose bubbly, which cost £65 each.

But at 3am, when Singh was told his credit card could not honour the bill, all hell broke loose. Singh, of London Road, abused duty manager Jo Flanigan and told her he was going to kill her, before headbutting a table and punching a glass panel in the trendy Brewer Street establishment.

Miss Flanigan told Southwark Crown Court: "He was obviously upset about the bill because he couldn't pay it. I would be agitated if I went to a restaurant or bar and my card would not go through. I would be embarrassed.

"But if a gentleman stands up and says, 'I am going to kill you', and punches a glass partition and headbutts a table, that's not normal. I was quite frightened. I actually think he wanted one of the security staff to hit him so he did not have to pay the bill. He was basically trying to wind everyone up and get someone to hit him."

Singh denied affray and common assault, but admitted using threatening words and behaviour during the evening of December 9 last year.

Judge Robin Laurie ordered Singh to complete 175 hours of community service, pay £450 compensation to the restaurant, and £920 costs.

The judge noted Singh had a conviction for assault in January last year for headbutting a bus driver when drunk, and another for being drunk and disorderly.

He added: "These offences all in a row are disturbing.

"When you are drunk you are a thoroughly unpleasant and aggressive person. In all the circumstances, you escape prison by a whisker."

December 20, 2001 18:39