Hamish Laing: Albany man fined $2000 for criminal damage and disorderly behaviour at Lowlands Beach carpark

An Albany man has been fined for threatening a “frightened” Israeli tourist over his views on the Israeli-Palestine conflict as he was making himself lunch in a beach carpark. Hamish Laing, 51, appeared in Albany Magistrates Court on May 2 and pleaded guilty to criminal damage and disorderly behaviour in public. Other charges of making a threat to unlawfully do an act and attempted aggravated home burglary with intent were discontinued. At a beachside carpark in Lowlands on January 6, the 25-year-old tourist was making lunch in the back of his rented Hyundai motor home. The court was told Laing approached him and asked him where he was from. When the victim told him he was from Israel, Laing became hostile and angry, talking about the conflict in the Gaza Strip. The victim went inside his van and locked the van door, recording part of the incident on his phone. Getting behind the wheel of his Holden Rodeo, Laing drove towards the victim, revved his engine, blocked the victim’s van from leaving, gestured with his middle finger, and drove into the van’s driver door, causing minor damage. The victim escaped and reported the incident to police. Laing’s defence lawyer Bruno Illari said that he suffered from health problems, his behaviour was “totally out of character”, and the victim had “made some fairly disparaging remarks towards Palestinians”. “Mr Laing became quite heated, and he now bitterly regrets his behaviour,” Mr Illari said. Police prosecutor Sgt Matt Hartfield said Laing’s behaviour was “certainly inappropriate” and that “you don’t expect to go to the beach and for someone to behave in this manner”. “A 25-year-old male not from this country who was at a beach, an isolated beach, pretty much minding his own business, has been approached,” Sgt Hartfield said. “Yes, originally it was all nice and calm but unfortunately the accused’s ideology or opinion has got the better of him and we are where we are today.” Magistrate Erin O’Donnell said Laing’s behaviour was “fairly extreme” and the victim was understandably “quite frightened”. “I’m prepared to accept that your question was initially curiosity, there was no malice behind it, but when he responded you immediately decided for reasons known best to yourself to raise the politics of the region and your views on that,” she said. “Now that’s fine if you’re capable of debating in a rational and calm way and if he was prepared to enter into a discussion on that … if you’re not capable of doing that it’s probably best you don’t insert your opinion immediately.” In sentencing, Ms O’Donnell dismissed Laing’s health concerns as mitigating but considered his early plea, imposing a $2000 fine and court costs of $141.50.