Woman surrenders after her 'abuse video' of Indian man goes viral

03 May, 2012

A video in which a British woman, apparently in an inebriated state, hurls abuses and racist remarks at an Indian man, has become viral on the Internet. The woman would be sentenced on May 29 but the incident points to the fact that racist feelings are still alive amongst local white populace in the UK.

IT IS generally said that people speak the truth in an inebriated state – apparently the same thing happened on January 23 earlier this year when Jacqueline Woodhouse lashed out and abused an Indian-origin man. “It is not your country. It has been overtaken by people like you,” she shouted. The woman is likely to be jailed, courtesy the power of social media as Galbant Singh Jhuttla filmed her before raising an alarm – the video became a viral on the Internet and has since got 200,000 views.

According to NDTV, the incident occurred on the Central Line between St Paul's and Mile End stations on January 23 when Jacqueline Woodhouse, 42, apparently in an inebriated state, lashed out against fellow passengers with expletives.

The man could have very well reacted against Woodhouse by requesting to be talked to in a dignified way but it could be that Jhuttla feared that other people (Brits) could very well take woman’s side, given the fears that feelings of racism still lurk amongst the whites in the country. And they are generally believed to have compounded after the UK slipped into recession and people lost jobs – quite obvious they would be feeling bad after seeing Indians working and enjoying there.

Woodhouse has meanwhile admitted causing harassment, alarm and distress to Jhuttla, and she is due to be sentenced on May 29. Only reaction from Jhuttla to Woodhouse was that ‘he was also British and paid more taxes than she did and that she should mind her language’. Apparently, she had drunk too much and started screaming: “It's not your country anyway so what's your problem... It's been overtaken by people like you".

Prosecutor Claire Campbell, according to NDTV told the court that Woodhouse then told Juttla: "I hope you are not claiming benefits and I hope you pay your taxes", to which Juttla replied: "I pay more taxes than you, love".

Realising the power of social media, Jhuttla uploaded it on YouTube, believing that ‘it was the fast track process to catching this person’. Following a media campaign, Woodhouse, according to the prosecutor, went to the police station. She admitted being in the video but said that she didn’t remember the rants.

Surprisingly, the woman was fined for a similar offence in December 2008 on the Docklands Light Railway.