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No jail time for couple involved in racist coffee-throwing incident at Richmond, B.C. café

Click to play video: 'Couple given probation for racist incident'
Couple given probation for racist incident
Sentencing has been handed down for a couple involved in a racist incident at a Richmond coffee shop last year. As Julie Nolin reports, it was just one of several shocking anti-Asian hate crimes that has happened in Metro Vancouver during the pandemic – Nov 3, 2022

A B.C. couple that admitted to a racist incident at a café in Richmond, B.C., won’t spend any time behind bars.

Astrid Maria Secreve and Michel Jean-Jacque Berthiaume each pleaded guilty to one count of mischief over the incident at Rocanini Coffee Roasters in Steveston.

On Thursday, the pair were given a conditional sentence, with 12 months of probation and several conditions including a ban on contacting the victims in the case. They were also ordered to each pay a $100 victim surcharge.

“This was brazen and destructive behaviour,” B.C. Provincial Court Judge Diana Vandor said in handing down the sentence.

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“They’ve yet to express real remorse,” she added. “They’ve taken the position that their criminal conduct is acceptable.”

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Click to play video: 'Anti-asian slurs caught on camera in Richmond coffee shop incident'
Anti-asian slurs caught on camera in Richmond coffee shop incident

The incident unfolded on March 29, 2021 and was partially captured on security video.

That video appears to show a man pouring a drink on the café floor, and a woman throwing the contents of a cup at the shop manager.

The manager previously said the two had seated themselves in an area of the café they weren’t allowed to be due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The pair’s actions depicted in the video came after they were asked to move, the manager said.

The two then used anti-Asian slurs when they were asked to leave.

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