A Tube user has been convicted of a crime and ordered to pay more than £500 for entering a London Underground station while on rollerskates.
John Cejas, 27, was hit with the penalty for entering Whitechapel station in east London and going through the entry gate while on wheels.
He was accosted by a Transport for London (TfL) official who told him he had breached a London Underground byelaw in the incident, which happened at just after 12.30pm on July 11.
Cejas, of Rabbits Road in Manor Park, east London, failed to enter a plea when he was charged with entering a pedestrian-only area other than on foot without authority on the Transport for London regional railway network.
A magistrate sitting in Romford last week fined him £220 and ordered him to pay £250 in costs as well as an £88 victim surcharge.
The case was among 748 prosecutions brought by TfL last week in the Single Justice Procedure.
The vast majority of the cases concerned fare dodging, while one defendant was fined for bringing an e-scooter illegally on to the Tube network.
Court papers in Cejas’s case reveal Sophie Taylorson, a TfL official, was on duty at Whitechapel station when she “observed a male passenger who I now know to be Mr John Cejas coming from the direction of the street with roller-skates on his feet.
“I approached him and identified myself and informed him that because of his actions he was now in breach of Byelaw 15 - Any person who enters or is on any part of the railway to which the public has access must be on foot.
“I said to Mr Cejas: ‘Hello there, skates are banned from being used in the TfL network’.
“He said ‘OK’. I said: ‘I require your details to complete your details for TfL’s prosecution team.
“He said ‘OK’.”
She said Cejas handed over his details, and a decision to prosecute was taken in mid-September.
Last week, TfL revealed for the first time that more than 1,000 people had been referred to its investigations, appeals and prosecutions team for prosecution after being reported for pushing through gates.
In the courts last week was Hassan Arif, 46, who was caught tailgating another passenger through the barriers without paying at King’s Cross St Pancras station on July 21.
At 3.05pm, Hassan was challenged by a TfL officer who told him; “I just saw you enter the barrier behind a stranger – may I ask why?”
Court papers show Hassan replied “I’m sorry please”, before adding: “I won’t do it again.”
He did not enter a plea as a magistrate sentenced him to a £220 fine, £250 costs, and an £88 victim surcharge.
The cases of both Cejas and Hassan were dealt with behind closed doors by a magistrate, who adjudicated on 150 TfL prosecutions in the space of a single day, imposing fines, costs, compensations and court fees totalling more than £86,000.
It is unclear if Hassan knew that he was being prosecuted, and it appears unlikely he will pay the fine as all the court papers were sent to a hostel in King’s Cross which is currently closed.
