THE Attadale man that pulled a gun at Melville Recreation Centre after a social basketball game last month claims he flew into a rage after a referee told him to go back to his own country.
Eugene Tan was today handed a nine-month suspended jail sentence for the incident, which occurred on the evening of Monday, May 29.
Fremantle Magistrates Court heard the 38-year-old became angry at the officiating during the basketball game and confronted a young referee after the match.
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READ NOWMr Tan claimed the referee told him to return to his own country, at which point he stormed out of the recreation centre and retrieved a 9mm handgun from his car.
He concealed the weapon underneath his jumper and attempted to return to the court but was stopped from re-entering the centre by friends from his team.
Witnesses who saw Mr Tan holding the gun contacted police and the man’s home was raided the following day after Fremantle Detectives reviewed CCTV vision of the carpark.
Mr Tan told police he “just wanted to scare the referee”.
He also said the handgun was a replica that only fired blanks.
Mr Tan pleaded guilty to charges of being armed in a way that may cause fear and possession of an unlicensed firearm.
In handing down the suspended jail sentence, the Magistrate labelled Mr Tan’s behaviour on the evening “outrageous”.
He said it would be impossible for the average person to tell whether the gun was a replica by its appearance.
“Firearms are a significant problem in the community and but for your friends stopping you from returning to the centre you would have caused chaos,” he said.
The nine month prison sentence has been suspended for 15 months, meaning Mr Tan will receive an automatic jail sentence if he reoffends during that time.
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