A REFUGEE who did not co-operate with train staff because he feared for his safety has been fined.

Commuter Samuel Yiga, 26, refused to give his details to Greater Anglia ticket inspector Gene Dominey when he was approached at Witham for not having a ticket.

He refused to share his details, claiming he was being treated unfairly, Colchester Magistrates’ Court heard.

A second inspector was drawn into the dispute and British Transport Police were called to meet them at Colchester Station.

Mr Dominey said: “He was raising his voice, his arms were flailing and that’s why I thought it appropriate to switch the body worn camera on.

“He wasn’t co-operating with me and I didn’t know how he would react.”
Two British Transport Police officers, who also said Yiga was being aggressive, attempted to lead him out of the station.

Yiga, a refugee from Uganda, said he felt intimidated by the number of staff surrounding him because he fears the police. 

He told the court he felt uneasy because neither ticket inspectors showed him identity cards.

Instead, he offered to go into custody, where he would have shared his details, and left the train with his hands up to be cuffed.

He said: “Being a refugee I stand at risk of being persecuted in any part of the world.

“Having passed through what I’ve passed through and being a victim of torture in my country, I take precautions. 

“Life is my first priority. It was paramount to me, more than anything.”

Yiga denied breaching rail bylaw six and 24 for unacceptable behaviour.

District Judge John Woollard was not convinced, calling his behaviour “hostile and unhelpful”.

Yiga, of London, was ordered to pay a total of £390 in fines and costs.

Mr Woollard dropped a charge of not having a ticket.

Yiga had boarded the train from London Stratford station with his Oyster card, but after falling asleep on the train woke up just as it was leaving Shenfield.

The university student said: “That’s when I heard the announcement that contactless and oyster cards aren’t valid.”

He brought photographic evidence into court of him trying to buy an online ticket for the remainder of his journey and his reasons were accepted.