Diner faces jail over 'death threat'

A recruitment consultant who ran up a £895 bill at a London restaurant headbutted a table and threatened to kill the manager when his credit card was rejected, a court heard.

Rupinder Singh, 24, now faces jail after admitting he used threatening behaviour. He was said to have launched into a tirade of abuse, calling the manager a "f***ing bitch" and punching his hand through a glass panel when staff at the Titanic restaurant told him his card had not worked.

Southwark Crown Court heard how Singh and two friends began their evening out at the Marco Pierre White restaurant in Brewer Street with a £41.65 order for seven vodkas and mixers. They then moved on to champagne, ordering four bottles of £150 Dom Perignon and two bottles of £65 Laurent Perrier Ros?.

Restaurant manager Jo Flanigan told the court how the defendant's credit card was refused and she went to ask him if he could pay another way.

She said: "If a gentleman stands up and says, 'You f***ing bitch, I am going to kill you', and punches a glass partition, that's not normal ... I was quite frightened. Everyone was looking at him and avoiding the area.

"He actually said, 'C'mon, what are you going to do? Beat me up because I am Asian?'. I think he wanted someone 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. I told staff not to touch him and laugh it off.

"Mr Singh was not hurt apart from the injuries he sustained himself." Ms Flanigan denied she was anxious about the sum owed, saying: "It's not even £1,000, which is not high for the Titanic. It's a large bill in anyone's mind, a large sum of money, but I was not particularly anxious." She said at no time did Singh dispute the amount.

Nicholas Wells, defending, said: "He was told very clearly the police were coming and was forced to wait, virtually against his will. He was agitated and upset about the bill and was dealt with almost summarily by staff."

Ms Flanigan said: "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." But she maintained Singh became threatening.

Singh, of London Road, Bromley, had claimed doormen at the restaurant became aggressive but he today changed his plea to admit using threatening words and behaviour, after having denied affray and common assault on 9 December last year.

Judge Robin Laurie adjourned sentencing until next month and warned Singh he could face jail.