Thursday, April 28, 2011

Pub singer in 'race' arrest for playing Kung Fu Fighting as Chinese couple walk past

A musician was arrested after a performance of the 1970s song Kung Fu Fighting at an Isle of Wight bar sparked an alleged racism row with a passer-by. Simon Ledger, 34, of Shanklin, said he was playing the Carl Douglas hit at the Driftwood bar, Sandown, on Sunday when the man of Chinese origin took offence.



Police said the passer-by claimed he was then "subjected to racial abuse". Mr Ledger was bailed by police and is expected to be questioned later.

Police said the 32-year-old man was walking past the bar at about 1745 BST when the incident took place. He contacted officers to make a complaint on the same evening.



Keyboardist Mr Ledger said he was later called and was arrested on suspicion of causing harassment, alarm or distress. He was not taken to a police station but was released on street bail to be questioned later. A Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said: "An investigation into this allegation is continuing to establish the full circumstances surrounding what happened."

3 comments:

SteveC said...

If the chinese man felt persecuted then he should have talked to the pub manager in my opinion. The musician does seem a bit of a jerk as his facebook entry does seem to back up the chinese fellas claim.

arbroath said...

I felt a bit sorry for him until I saw his Facebook entry.

Now, having heard him bleating on in radio interviews two days running, I get the impression he's an attention seeker.

Ed Skinner said...

There are all sorts of ways of dealing with jerks but giving up the right of Free Speech is a really bad choice.