Thug locked up for killing delivery driver

A TEENAGE thug who killed a takeaway delivery driver with a single punch was locked up for five years today.

• John Reid

John Reid, 16, pleaded guilty to culpable homicide following the attack on Simon San, 40, in Lochend Road, Edinburgh, on August 11, who died the following day.

At the High Court in Glasgow judge Lord Matthews told Reid: "Simon San was a hard working and much loved son.

"His only crime was to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"While engaged in his duties as a delivery driver serving the public, he was beset by a gang of youths of which you formed part."

"His car was rocked for no apparent reason whatsoever. When he emerged from it, showing no antagonism, you and your associates acted like a pack of animals.

"He was forced backwards until, without any provocation, you delivered a blow to his face which poleaxed him."

The judge went on: "The blow was not so powerful as to cause any facial fractures, but it was likely to have been heavy and forceful.

"There is no doubt that it was cowardly and not expected by Mr San, who had no opportunity to prepare or defend himself.

"The upshot was that he fell backwards very heavily and his head struck the ground causing a skull fracture and extensive damage to the brain. His death thereafter was inevitable."

The judge said he accepted Reid could not have predicted Mr San would have died as a result of the blow.

But, he added: "Despite your age I cannot divorce your actions from the surrounding circumstances.

"This was not just a glancing blow in the context of a stand up fight but the culmination of serious aggression towards an innocent victim."

The judge said "devastation" had been "wreaked into the lives" of Mr San's family.

He concluded: "He was not only a breadwinner but a source of constant love and support.

"You are very young but at least you will have the opportunity to grow older. No sentence I can pass will be any form of compensation for their loss."

Mr San's family say that they frequently phoned Lothian and Borders Police complaining about anti-social behaviour by youths at their takeaway and nothing was done. Now they are demanding a probe.

Outside the court family lawyer Aamer Anwar said: "The San family will never stop grieving for the loss of their much loved innocent son and brother Simon.

"Nothing will ever make up for Simon being taken, but today cannot be described as justice.

"We believe that had the police acted the very first time that we requested help that Simon might still be here today.

"We have met with Lothian and Border Police and are calling for a formal investigation into their officers.

"We believe that John Reid is a mindless thug whose random violence destroys like ours every day in Scotland.

"The police say Simon was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was not, he had every right to be there, at his work, amongst the community of which he was a part."

Mr San suffered severe head injuries outside his family's takeaway, Yong Hua Garden.

He fell back after John Reid's punch and struck his head on the pavement. And died the following day from a fractured skull and internal bleeding.

Reid, 16, of Ferry Road Drive, Edinburgh, pleaded guilty to culpable homicide.

Advocate depute Alex Prentice QC described how police had received frequent reports of trouble in the area and how Mr San's tiny Smart car had been rocked as he returned from making a delivery.

The court heard how Mr San, of Chinese origin who lived in Vietnam, was the youngest of six. He had obtained British citizenship after the family moved to Edinburgh when he was 12.

He worked as a waiter in a number of Chinese restaurants and for two years had been delivering meals for his sister who ran the Yong Hua Gardens Takeaway.

Mr Prentice said that during the evening of August 11 plain clothes detectives were patrolling the area because of reports of anti-social behaviour and noted a group hanging round outside the Loch Inn pub, next to the Chinese eaterie.

About 10pm Mr San returned. "His Smart Car was surrounded by the accused Reid and others. They started rocking it with the deceased still in it," said Mr Prentice.

Mr San got out with his mobile phone, indicating he was calling police. The operator heard him say: "Youngsters, a group of them, making trouble."

The phone call also recorded the sound of a disturbance and young people screaming before the line went quiet.

Witnesses who had popped outside the Loch Inn for a smoke saw a group of youths force Mr San back towards a wall. Then Reid came forward and punched him once, in the face as Mr San was still on the phone.

"The driver was poleaxed and fell right back on the ground. He did not stagger, he fell straight down," by-stander Callum Milne, 46, told police later.

"The back of his head connected with a flat section of the pavement.

"I would describe the noise as a sickening thud."

Mr Prentice said: "The family of the deceased are strongly of the view that the attack was racially motivated but police investigation has not found any evidence to support that."

Solicitor advocate Jim Stephenson said: "Mr Reid accepts responsibility for the death of Mr San. He has expressed regret for his actions and says it was not racially motivated.