To think the punishment doesn't fit the crime and wonder are we really this intolerant

[ohforsucksfake]

man pours drink over toddler

So an angry punter pours a drink over a grizzling 15 month old in a pub, and then kicks the mother when she reacts, he gets a fine. I think he should have received at least a short custodial sentence for assaulting a baby and an adult.

Also raises the question, should we be more or less tolerant of children? Judging by some of the comments people obviously think he was justified. Personally I think we could all be a bit more tolerant of children. Yes they can be very annoying, and yes sometimes adults just want to escape kids. But there ARE places you can go where children are either not allowed or very unlikely to be. Also while they can be annoying, they are part of society, part of life, there are lots of things in life that are.

I flew back from holiday recently and there was a very grizzly baby who cried for about the first hour, although I found the cheesy flight attendants, the stink of aeroplane food at 2.00am more annoying than the baby.

"There would be a mojor bloody problem with society if we all felt this was a minor reaction. "

It probably is a major reaction but it is still a minor assault.

Even without the major/minor prefix assault is a pretty serious thing, so I don't think that classifying this as minor when seen in the context of all assaults that take place is incorrect.

I think it's horrendous. Have you ever had a drink poured over your head? I have and it's humiliating, upsetting and uncomfortable enough as an adult. I imagine to a baby it would be terrifying - they don't even like getting their hair washed when you're ultra-careful not to get it near their eyes! And then the fact the poor child would have had to sit in soaking wet clothes until they found replacements, at that age not everyone takes spare outfits out with them. Plus, bad enough if it was water but to use beer is just disgusting - a small amount of alcohol can poison a baby, and some people find it an irritant on sensitive skin.

It is major when you think of it in terms of it being about a baby. Anything is because a baby is so much smaller and weaker than an adult. Classifying it in terms of all assaults ever is pointless. Otherwise you might as well say that glassing someone in the face isn't major, because serial killers exist.

"He should be given community service working with whingey babies and a massive fine. "

I don't think that is practical as generally criminals fail a CRB check.

Pouring drink over a baby is a minor assualt, although it is an extremely nasty thing to do. A major assualt would be glassing someone or Grievous bodily harm.

I feel the man should have been punished more harshly but I do not see jail as the answer. I definately think some kind of community work and anager management training would be better. Polak needs to be brought down a peg or two. He needs to take responsiblity for his actions. Prehaps cleaning up dog shit or grafiti in the park alongside 15 year olds who can't control their temper would be better. He would be humilated by being forced to wear a bright orange tabard with community pay back on the back, just like the other people on community service.

I think that Miss Aktin should not have thrown her drink either and prehaps deserves to be barred from the particular pub, but should not face criminal proceedings.

Kelly Pretty obvious I'd think - Pouring a pint over child = minor, but still assault obviously. Physically hurting a child = major. Not obvious to me. I wouldn't call any kind of assult on such a young child minor. Throwing a drink on an adult yes, a child no.

To pour a drink over a strangers baby's head for crying should equally a custodial sentence imo, simply because he cannot hold his temper around a baby

Quite simply the man needs to learn he cannot behave like that to a baby.

Completely inadequate sentence - assaulting a baby is a very serious crime indeed. People have been sent to prison for wearing T-shirts, or for joking about the airport being closed, ffs. Although I guess reallytired's idea of community service would be the best option.

Bloody hell that place is only 10mins drive from me. Who in their right mind would think it's ok to pOur a pInt over a baby

Just read some of those comments on the DM site

I'm not going to look. Last time I looked at the DM comments on a different article, I saw a post from someone who said they wanted to watch someone knock a two year old out!

TheBigJessie Morons.

if i were his gc's mother he wouldnt get within 100 yards of them ever again

Total utter twat.

But I think that the sentence was about right. Although extremely unpleasant nobody was seriously hurt. Considering how overcrowded our prisons are and how expensive it is to hold prisoners I really don't think it would be in the public interest to jail him.

Perhaps some extra community service would have been the right thing to do.

I'd have glassed the bastard!! hmm..

or...

I think I would have headbutted him, it would be my first reaction

Are these the acceptable responses in a Weatherspoons pub these days

My comment was supposed to be silly, of course. I meant the part about the massive fine though and about banning him.

I think there might be an issue for people who want to drink/eat away from children, however I think it is getting harder to find such places.

Of course the bloke in the article behaved like an arse, and I imagine he has been told this many times by now.

But where (on the high street) can you go if you don't want babies/children around you?

There don't seem to be that many options.

Some may rejoice in this situation, others, like my 76 y/o dad find it frustrating.

it was lunchtime in a pub that caters towards children, if kids annoy you that much dont go to a pub that markets itself as a family pub during the day time

Children are part of life.

I wish we had more of a meditteranean attitude towards children, generally.

It's peculiarly British to want to socialise without them (not talking piss-ups etc, just a quiet meal with a couple of drinks, cinema or whatever). Then people wonder why kids are sometimes badly-behaved when they do go out, they've not been brought up with it.

I was at a wedding in Ireland recently, and in the hotel bar there was a huge "mother's meeting" kinda thing. All happily chatting, breastfeeding, bottlefeeding, and having just the one half of Guinness and/or coffee. I took special notice because you don't generally see that happen here. Mums and babies are shoved away in a draughty church hall where no-one else has to tolerate them.

Having said all that, Wetherspoon's are godawful places often frequented by Jeremy Kyle types (my local one is certainly), so I don't actually think they are a good place for children, despite the children's menu etc. Other branches may be better, I expect.

I think jail would have been too extreme, but I definitely think community service and an anger management course should be added, this guy clearly has issues and a not very big fine isn't going to change that.

Poor baby, I'm a very calm person normally but I think I would have tried to claw his eyes out :/

I hate to see mothers getting pissed in the pub while in charge of their children. Fathers too for that matter. I don't think childrens play areas and alcohol go together very well.

cozy, pubs do sell soft drinks you know.

it's a pisser when you post what you think is quite a long, nuanced and fair-minded post and it gets followed up by an ignorant comment

It hasn't got a children's play area, that's down the road. However just because someone goes to a pub for lunch after soft play doesn't mean they will be getting pissed.

There's a pub a few doors down that children can't go in. He should have gone there

Yeah but why do pubs have childrens play areas? It's just a weird combination IMO.