Burglar racially abused man in Widnes before assaulting two police officers

A burglar who racially abused a member of the public before assaulting two police officers has been jailed.

Marshall Tung, of no fixed address, directed a racial slur at a man after trying to open a window to his Widnes home shortly before 12 midnight on Wednesday 9 September.

The victim was inside his house at the time. He had asked Tung to leave his address after spotting him looking inside the car parked on the driveway.

Tung’s attempts to open the window that the victim was stood behind scared and shocked him.

The police were called and officers located and arrested Tung in the Highfield Road area minutes later.

Whilst in custody in Runcorn, the 33-year-old kicked a police officer in his knee in a holding cell area.

When he was being booked in at the custody desk, Tung threatened to bite another officer and attempted to do so.

Tung initially gave officers a false name but it was soon established that he was a wanted man, with DNA evidence linking him to a burglary at a flat in George Street, Liverpool.

Two laptops were stolen during the burglary, which occurred between 1pm on Saturday 4 July and 2am the following day and was investigated by Merseyside Police.

Tung refused to answer questions when interviewed in custody but he pleaded guilty to four offences – the burglary, racially aggravated intentional harassment, assaulting a police officer and common assault of a police officer – as soon as the case against him progressed to a crown court.

He was subsequently jailed for a total of three-and-a-half years at Chester Crown Court on Friday 9 October.

Detective Constable Laura Sandbach, who led the investigation on behalf of Widnes Local Policing Unit, said: “I am delighted that Marshall Tung is now behind bars facing the consequences of his actions.

“Whilst being a wanted man for a burglary he carried out in Liverpool in July, Tung committed three offences in a day in Halton.

“He racially abused a man during a harassment incident at the victim’s address and then assaulted two police officers whilst in custody.

“Racial abuse in any form is simply not acceptable. We are aware of the significant emotional and personal impact that hate crimes have on victims and they will not be tolerated in Cheshire.

“The same goes for assaults on police officers and any other emergency service worker.

“I hope the fact that Tung has now been convicted of, and jailed for, the offences he committed provides his victims with some closure, and I also hope this case deters others from committing such crimes.”

Superintendent Laura Marler, who oversees policing in Halton, added: “The nature of policing inevitably requires officers to deal with violent and challenging situations, but, regardless of the situation, being assaulted by a member of the public we serve should never be seen as an acceptable ‘part of the job’.

“To assault an officer, or any other emergency service worker, is to attack society itself.

“Officers being taken off the streets because of assaults by members of the public impacts on the level of service we can provide to the communities we serve and protect.

“Such absences not only have a detrimental effect on the resourcing of incidents, they increase pressures on other officers too, due to the additional responsibilities they have to take on to ensure that we meet the needs of the public.

“Assaults also often cause distress to family members, particularly when the officer suffers psychological or visible physical injuries.”

David Keane, the police and crime commissioner for Cheshire, said: “I support tough sentences for the crime of attacking an officer.

“Such attacks are despicable, now more than ever.

“This year officers have been risking their own safety, and that of their families, as they work on the frontline during the coronavirus pandemic.

“This is an unprecedented time when, thankfully, most members of our communities have been pulling together and supporting our frontline workers.

“Sadly, there still remains a small minority of people who disrespect the police and even think that it is acceptable to assault officers.

“Such assaults are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated by Cheshire Constabulary.”

On top of his custodial sentence, Tung was ordered to pay a £190 victim surcharge.