‘Rude Boy Boy Ina B@**Y Bwai Head’: Bartender fined $805 for assaulting man with pint-bottle for allegedly being gay

By Breaking Belize News Staff: A 22-year-old Belize City bartender was fined $805 after pleading guilty to aggravated assault against a taxi driver in an incident a Senior Magistrate described as unprovoked and likened to a hate crime in the United States.

Jaheem Denmark Dougal, a part-time bartender and car washer of Dolphin Street, Belize City, appeared unrepresented late Wednesday evening before a Senior Magistrate in Court #2, where he was charged with aggravated assault with a pint bottle upon a 37-year-old taxi driver.

According to police, the incident occurred on Friday, July 3, 2026, on Mosul Street in Belize City. The taxi driver reported that around 4:40 p.m., he was at T&W Store at the corner of East Collet Canal and Vernon Street when he was approached by three young men he had known for about five years.

Mejia told police that one of the men made a derogatory remark toward him, referring to him as a “batty man,” and said, “mek I show you what I do with man like you.”

Mejia said he continued shopping and left the store, but while walking near Lindo’s Alley, he saw the same three men again. He reported that one of them attempted to hit him with a pint bottle and a Belikin bottle but missed. Mejia said the men followed him until he told them he would make a police report.

Police later reviewed surveillance footage, and a female police officer identified Dougal as the person seen lifting the pint bottle at the complainant. Dougal was later detained and charged.

In court, Dougal admitted his role in the incident and pleaded guilty. In mitigation, he told the court that he did not follow the complainant and claimed that the taxi driver had passed by them. He expressed remorse, saying he was sorry and that it would not happen again.

The Senior Magistrate took into consideration that it was Dougal’s first conviction for aggravated assault and imposed a non-custodial sentence. Dougal was fined $805, which he must pay by September 30, 2026, or serve three months in prison.

Before leaving court, Dougal also had to settle a previous $30 court debt for riding a bicycle contrary to the flow of traffic.

The Senior Magistrate told Dougal that his actions were unprovoked and noted that, had the incident occurred in the United States, it would have been treated as a hate crime.

The post ‘Rude Boy Boy Ina B@**Y Bwai Head’: Bartender fined $805 for assaulting man with pint-bottle for allegedly being gay appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.