Charles Begg: Merrylands man imprisoned for assault at Newtown’s Town Hall Hotel

The violent antics of an engineer following a work Christmas party have landed him in jail, after he threatened to kill and attacked a security guard he said he had never met.

Charles Begg was sentenced at Newtown Local Court. ​

A civil engineer who punched and threatened to kill a security guard at a Newtown pub was slammed by a magistrate who did not believe his explanation that he was too drunk to remember what happened.

Merrylands man Charles Begg, 30, learned on Tuesday he would spend at least eight months behind bars after being sentenced for common assault and intimidation following a plea of guilty.

Police facts tendered to court lay out how Begg’s night out at Newtown’s Town Hall Hotel, located on King St, went so horribly wrong.

About 6:45pm on December 2, Begg arrived at the pub and approached the two security guards standing by the entrance, a court heard.

He then asked the security guards for their names and when the victim said “my surname is Gorge”, Begg replied, “You’re the one, you’re the one I need to know”.

Newtown’s Town Hall Hotel. Picture: Damian Shaw

The court heard Begg then entered the hotel, made two phone calls and started talking to an unknown man.

“(Begg) is then seen pointing towards the doors … in the direction of the victim. He talks to the (unknown) male and makes a punching motion using his right hand to punch into the palm of his left hand,” police facts state.

Soon after this, he approached the security guard and said “You are Mina, aren’t you?”, a court heard.

According to police facts he then pushed the guard in the chest causing him to collide with a glass door. With the guard cornered, Begg said: “You are Mina, I know where you live, I know your brother, I know where your mum lives”.

Police facts then state Begg “took up a boxing stance” and punched the victim’s right shoulder.

When the guard retreated Begg punched his jaw, a court heard.

The engineer then followed the guard around the pub and continued attacking him, before saying “I’m going to kill you, I’m going to kill your family”, police facts state.

Begg then left the hotel and was soon arrested at Erskineville’s Rose of Australia Hotel.

In court, Magistrate Lisa Stapleton said she did not believe Begg was too intoxicated after his work Christmas party to remember what had happened because no one at the party had noticed he was drunk and he would have been refused entry to the two pubs.

Documents tendered to court state Begg did not know the victim before the attack but Ms Stapleton also found that implausible.

“I regard it as a planned offence and that is an aggravating feature,” he said. “(And) there are very few threats more serious to a person than that I’m going to kill you and kill your family,” she added.

The court also heard Begg had two prior convictions for common assault.

Ms Stapleton convicted Begg and sentenced him to 16 months jail with a non-parole period of eight months.