A drunken mother-of-two has been captured on video falsely claiming she was raped and causing £4,000 worth of damage during a rampage at a takeaway.
Ann Marie Fowler, 33, was spared a prison sentence and told to pay £400 compensation after she trashed takeaway Kebabish in Falkirk, Scotland, during an outburst shortly before midnight on July 21.
Footage captured the moment Fowler threw food, flashed her breasts at horrified workers, smashed a glass cabinet and hit the owner in the head with a charity collection tin.
She also grabbed a worker by the t-shirt as he was on the phone to police, and shouted ‘you raped me, you raped me’ while pulling down her top and bra to expose her breasts.
Ann Marie Fowler, 33, was spared a prison sentence and told to pay £400 compensation after she trashed takeaway Kebabish in Falkirk during an outburst shortly before midnight on July 21. Pictured grabbing at one of the workers’ t-shirts
Fowler – who was on her way back from visiting her son in hospital – admitted racially aggravated assault and a string of other offences when she appeared at Falkirk Sheriff Court.
Her defence lawyer said benefits claimant Fowler would struggle to pay the compensation handed down.
She was also spared a prison sentence – to the dismay of owner Zohaib Arshad who described the £400 compensation order as ‘an injustice’.
Owner Zohaib Arshad, 33, said: ‘People are saying “maybe she’s laughing in the pub for what she did and what she got”.
‘These people are getting money from our taxes and we are the victims. In the Muslim community the accusation of rape is a huge thing.
‘We never knew that woman, we had nothing to do with that lady. She’s taking her clothes off and accusing me of rape – that video has saved me.
Footage captured the moment Fowler threw food, flashed her breasts at horrified workers, smashed a glass cabinet and hit the owner in the head with a charity collection tin
‘If we didn’t have that video they might have arrested me, if I had been accused of rape I might have been taken in for questioning.
‘Some people take their own lives because of accusations like that. Being racist is a crime. She accused us of rape and there was vandalism and racism.
‘Everything went into the bin. The compensation should be higher and she must be jailed.’
Insurance did not cover the damage, and the smashed glass cabinet had to be replaced by a perspex one.
Father-of-two Zohaib said: ‘The damage was £4,000 and we had to pay to dispose of the old one.
The moment Fowler smashed a glass cabinet. Insurance did not cover the damage and the smashed glass screen had to be replaced by a perspex one
‘People in our community are saying it is white supremacy from the judge. She called us so many times “black b******s”, they ignored that.’
During her tirade, Fowler grabbed one staff member’s t-shirt and appeared to spit at the workers.
Procurator fiscal depute Rachel Wallace said: ‘She became aggressive asking for the food. She went to collect it and immediately threw the entire container up into the air.
‘The accused then punched the electronic point of sale system, causing it to break. She continued to shout “Where’s my food?”
A staff member handed over the original food box which Fowler again lobbed into the air before falsely claiming staff had raped her.
Ms Wallace added: ‘The accused then picked up a charity collection tin and struck the witness on the head.
Owner Zohaib Arshad, 33, said the £400 in compensation was not enough to cover the costs of the damage
‘This caused him to sustain a minor lump to his head which didn’t require any medical attention.
‘The accused then began removing items of her upper clothing while again shouting “You raped me”.
‘One witness contacted police. The accused began pulling on the glass display case and managed to pull another glass case off the unit.’
Police arrived a short time later and found two bank cards Fowler had dropped as she fled the scene.
Fowler pleaded guilty to shouting, swearing, uttering offensive remarks and wilfully destroying property belonging to another by punching a till, throwing items of food and pulling a glass display case containing items of food from its stand, causing it to fall to the floor and smash, at Falkirk Sheriff Court.
Fowler flashed her breasts at the workers and accused one of them of raping her. The owner, a father-of-two, said the video showing what really happened ‘saved’ him
Fowler, of Kelty, also admitted breaching a court-imposed curfew order to remain at home from 7pm until 7am daily by attending the shop and committing a racially aggravated assault on a man.
Defence solicitor Allana Turley said her client had gone to a pub on July 21 after a hospital visit to see her son who had broken his back. She also said Fowler had shown ‘genuine remorse and regret’.
The solicitor told Sheriff Keith O’Mahony her client was on benefits and would struggle to pay a hefty compensation fee, suggesting Fowler would instead benefit from supervision and counselling for alcohol abuse.
Sheriff O’Mahoney told Fowler she was on the ‘borderline’ of a custodial sentence and, as a direct alternative to imprisonment, placed her under supervision for two years, during which time she must undertake alcohol counselling and pay £400 in compensation.
