Sri Lankan man exposed himself at UK asylum seeker hotel after assaulting staff, court hears

March 12, 2026 at 10:10 AM

A Sri Lankan man exposed himself after assaulting two members of staff at a hotel for asylum seekers, a UK court has heard.

Sukirthan Thangrasha is on trial at Portsmouth Crown Court for one count of exposure after the incident at Highfield House Hotel in Southampton on August 15 2025.

The jury was told that the 38-year-old, who was assisted in court by a Tamil interpreter, had previously pleaded guilty to two charges of assault against two members of staff.

Jack Furness, prosecuting, said: “At that time the defendant was staying in accommodation for asylum seekers.

“He came down to the reception area of the accommodation, he was angry his phone was not working.

“He was verbally abusive to members of staff, he demanded that they fix the phone for him, he threw the phone at the reception desk.

“He said words to the effect of, ‘I am from Sri Lanka, you small men are from India and Pakistan, you should respect me’.

“Members of staff tried to calm the defendant down. The defendant approached a plant pot, he made some attempt to pull the plant out of the pot, he then pulled his trousers down.

“First time he left his underwear on, he lifted his top to expose his torso, he started walking around like this. The staff told him to stop and he did ultimately pull up his trousers.

“Shortly later the defendant pulls his trousers down again along with his underpants, thus exposing his genitals to the people around him. He exposed himself in front of multiple other people.” (Express.co.uk)