B.C. student pleads guilty to assault

KAMLOOPS, B.C. – Another student at a university in Kamloops, B.C., has been involved of a violent crime — the third such case in the last year.

Ravi Chaudhary, who is studying marketing at Thompson Rivers University, pleaded guilty to assault on Monday.

Provincial court Judge Roy Dickie handed Chaudhary a conditional discharge, meaning he won’t have a criminal record if he stays out of trouble while on a 12-month probation term.

Court heard Chaudhary, 25, was drunk when he approached a woman outside a hotel at about 3 a.m. on Sept. 21, 2013.

Video surveillance shows Chaudhary putting his arm around the woman as she entered the building.

“That video surveillance paints a pretty clear picture,” said Crown lawyer Frank Caputo, adding Chaudhary had a “romantic pursuit in mind.”

In the video, the woman is seen fending Chaudhary off with a kick.

He responded by punching her in the face.

“From then on, they were slapping at each other until they went out of view,” Caputo said.

The woman told police she was staying at the hotel and made a late-night trip to a nearby convenience store when Chaudhary approached her.

“This young lady was essentially just going about her business,” Caputo said.

“She attempted to rebuff his advances and Mr. Chaudhary got violent with her for rebuffing that advance.”

Caputo said Chaudhary was upset following his arrest.

“He was crying hysterically while pleading with police to let him go,” Caputo said.

Defence lawyer Jeremy Jensen said his client was “grossly intoxicated” when the assault took place.

Chaudhary, who is an international student from India, works at another hotel.

He plans to apply for a visa and stay in Kamloops following his graduation in December — something Jensen said would be impacted by a criminal record.

Probation terms include an order prohibiting Chaudhary from drinking alcohol and another requiring him to complete 15 hours of community service before school starts in the fall.

Earlier this month, Kudzai Mujuru, a Thompson Rivers international student from Zimbabwe, was ordered to pay $1,000 in fines and $10,000 in dental costs after he beat up two men in separate incidents — in November 2012 and another in April 2013.

Last November, Yousef Mohammed Almotairi of Saudi Arabia was jailed for six months after nearly killing another student from that country by jamming a pool cue through his eye during a 2012 fight at a downtown bar.

The victim, Abdulaziz Alhedaib, was left with permanent disabilities.

Earlier this month, Alhedaib himself was charged with assault with a weapon — a knife — and possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose stemming from an alleged unrelated domestic dispute in May.

He is due in court on July 7.