HEAD of the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD), Joel Simpson, was beaten on Sunday morning by a group of individuals who have since been labelled “homophobic.”

Following the incident which left Simpson bruised mainly to his hands, knees and sides, the SASOD boss took to his social media page to detail what had occurred.

He first complained about a group of individuals who were intentionally throwing alcohol on himself and other friends while they were out at popular night club, Palm Court.
Simpson stated that at first, he and his friends assumed that the act was unintentional, but when it occurred again, they took action by reporting to the supervisor on duty which proved to be futile.

“Sometime after midnight as the crowd started to grow, a group of men came in and stood at the back bar just behind us. Shortly after their arrival, I felt beer being thrown on us. I thought it must have been a drunken spill, so I ignored it, but we then felt a second douse of beer on us,” he recounted.

He added: “At this point, we realised this was very deliberate. I went to the bar and asked who was the supervisor on duty. I was directed to a man who wasn’t wearing any uniform or badge to identify him as staff. I reported to him what happened and his response was, ‘we don’t want man wining pun man here’.”

The SASOD managing director said the response left him “perplexed” and while some of his female friends then began to verbally respond to the group of individuals who threw the drinks, he discouraged them from physically confronting the men.

In the social media post, Simpson explained that the trip to the night club was part of “a long-planned, bar-hopping excursion,” which saw them visiting three other locations earlier.
After the experience at the club, Simpson visited The Strip Restaurant & Bar at the Giftland Mall and later visited the Bourda Market at a popular shop owner for a snack.
He told his friends and followers that this is when the same group of six men who threw their drinks earlier pounced on him.

“The same guys from PC [Palm Court] were there. I just ignored them and ordered my food. While I was ordering, the whole gang of them attacked me and beat me up. The sellers had to intervene. I am bruised and my sides or ribs are hurting,” he detailed.

He later told this newspaper that City Constabulary officers who were nearby also intervened and were able to record the licence plate of one of the getaway cars.
Simpson was subsequently taken to the hospital by a friend.

One of the men reportedly involved has since been identified as Maverick De Abreu, who is before the court for wounding popular Trinidadian soca artiste, Rodney ‘Benjai’ Le Blanc at the very night club in 2017.

Highlighting that he has been visiting Palm Court for almost 20 years, the SASOD head stated that during that time he had never experienced “direct homophobia” while at the location.

However, he did note that in 2018, a group of trans-women experienced transphobic discrimination meted out by a security officer from the same night club after they attempted to use the female rest room.

He now vows that he and his friends will not be returning to the night spot until a public apology by the requisite individuals is offered and the club agrees to have its staff undergo Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transsexual, Queer (LGBTQ+) friendly customer service training.

Meanwhile, the matter is being dealt with by the police and the management at Palm Court has agreed to examine the club’s security footage for additional information on what had transpired.