The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Ticket dodger fined 50 times £5.90 rail fare
Aman who dodged a £5.90 rail fare from Edinburgh to Inverkeithing has been fined about 50 times that amount by the courts.
Marcus Long, 23, was rumbled when a conductor on board saw him leave the toilets as the train came to a stop at Inverkeithing.
The female staff member could not recall checking his ticket despite seeing him get on at Edinburgh Waverley.
Long, of Sleigh Drive in Edinburgh but formerly of Inverness, told the woman he had already shown his ticket but, when challenged, his tone became threatening and he refused to buy one.
Procurator fiscal depute Amy Robertson told Dunfermline Sheriff Court: “She advised him it would be £5.90 as she was aware he got on the service in Edinburgh and told him he was now being recorded on body-worn video”.
As the train pulled into the station, she took the body-worn video off and placed it into her right hand and said he was being recorded to “make sure” he “bought a ticket in future”.
Long grabbed the woman’s right hand, in which the camera was being held.
The conductor alerted the driver to the incident and told Long she was going to contact the police.
The fiscal depute added: “As the train doors opened the accused was able to make his escape from the train.
“On October 6... it came to light he was using the train service once again.
“He was a male matching the description of the accused from August 19 and his details were taken.”
The court heard he was arrested and charged in connection with not paying the fare.
Defence lawyer Graham Mann said Long had paid for a journey but it did not go as far as Inverkeithing and he was £3 short of the full fare.
The solicitor said his client regretted the incident but felt it became particularly confrontational when the camera was pointed at him.
Mr Mann said Long had a criminal record but also obtained a degree in statistics from Heriot-watt University and had been working as an assistant to an electrical engineer.
He admitted travelling between Edinburgh Waverley and Inverkeithing train stations without having previously paid his fare and with intent to avoid payment.
The offence is a breach of the Regulation of Railways Act 1989.
He also admitted a second charge of acting in a threatening or abusive manner towards an employee on the train.
Sheriff Wyllie Robertson fined Long £300 and made a compensation order of £3 in respect of the rail company.
He said prison would have been considered if the Crown had not amended the charge from one of assault and ordered Long to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.