• The Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed that a 39-year-old white man has been jailed for 10 months for “shouting Islamophobic comments”.
• Michael Mongan “hurled hateful abuse at a Muslim bus driver who was simply doing his job”, as seen in a widely shared viral video.
A Muslim bus driver in London was delivered some justice this week after his racist attacker was jailed for a verbal tirade of Islamophobic abuse hurled against him.
Michael Mongan of Ealing pleaded guilty to pleaded guilty to two counts of racial harassment, one count of religiously aggravated harassment and two counts of criminal damage.
In a video of the incident that went viral last week, Mongan can be seen spitting at the bus driver’s cab several times while threatening the Muslim driver and repeatedly shouting “Muslim B*****d” and “Terrorist B*****d” at him.
What wasn’t shown in the video was that the incident stemmed from the Muslim driver simply doing his job by denying Mongan’s request for a free bus ride, after the card reader on the bus had declined his bank card and could not pay the fare.
The incident recorded in Hayes, Middlesex was used to identify Mongan who was subsequently arrested at his home, where it was noted that the suspect had dyed his hair, believed to be an attempt to deceiveby altering his appearance.
Surprisingly, Mongan had already been previously charged with a racially aggravated offence and criminal damage on the 27th of July for racially abusing a bookmaker’s staff and causing criminal damage at their workplace.
While on bail for that incident, it is believed that Mongan’s actions were related to recent events across the UK, becoming emboldened by the white right-wing extremists’ reaction to the Southport stabbings and the racially charged riots which ensued.
During the trial, prosecutors read out a community impact statement from Tell MAMA highlighting instances of Islamophobic abuse, as well as explaining the profound impact Mongan’s actions had not only on the individual he aimed his vitriol at but also on the wider community.
Prosecutors had also successfully applied for a hate crime sentencing uplift, where the sentence went from a high-level Community Order to a custodial sentence.
At Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court, both cases where Mongan was charged were addressed, where Mongan was jailed for a total of ten months.
The presiding Judge Comfort told Mongan:
“Your behaviour (occurred) when there was violent disorder in other parts of the country against Muslims and other groups.”
The Chief Crown Prosecutor with CPS London North, Jaswant Narwal said:
“Mongan’s disgusting racism shocked our community and the thousands who saw it played out online.
“After being denied travel because he could not pay the fare, Mongan hurled hateful abuse at a bus driver who was simply doing their job.
“His actions come at a time of unrest which has left many feeling unsafe to go about their daily lives. The fact Mongan was on bail for a similar offence shows he lacked any contrition or remorse.
“Such behaviour has no place in our communities, and we will continue to work closely with the police to identify offenders who will face the full force of the law.”
