Court / Singing to along to hip-hop track results in breach of peace fine

SINGING along to a hip-hop song on mobile app TikTok in a public place has led to a man from Lerwick receiving a £500 fine for a breach of the peace.

Kyle Siegel, of Norgaet, admitted to uttering the word “n*****” when at the toilets of the Scalloway Boating Club in the early hours of 20 February.

But inside a cubicle was a person of mixed race, who was “severely shocked” by the use of language.

However, Lerwick Sheriff Court heard on Thursday that it was accepted Siegel did not know she was in a cubicle when he sang along to the Wu-Tang Clan song.

Twenty five year old Siegel admitted conducting himself in a disorderly manner, entering the female toilets in which a number of people were present, including the person who identified as mixed race, and uttering the word.

Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie told court the incident happened at around 1am, with a birthday party taking place at the boating club. He said Siegel said something along the lines of “how are you n*****”.

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Mackenzie said it was loud enough for the complainer to hear, with an argument then developing before it was reported to the police.

Defence agent Tommy Allan said his client’s position was that he was “singing along to a TikTok on a friend’s phone”.

He said the song in question was Wu-Tang Clan’s Protect Ya Neck.

Allan told Sheriff Ian Cruickshank that they were a well established group formed in Staten Island, in New York City, in 1992, with the members of an “ethnic background”.

The defence solicitor said a few issues arose from the case, such as “artistic freedom”, but he noted that Siegel was not a “person of colour”.

He added that his client “accepts that he has crossed the line” but that no offence was intended.

Sheriff Cruickshank fined Siegel £500 for the offence, with a victim surcharge of £20 added on top.