Chhokar memorial heckler guilty

The service marked the third anniversary of the murder

A man accused of racially abusing the father of the murdered waiter Surjit Singh Chhokar at a memorial service has been convicted of the lesser charge of breach of the peace

David Chisholm, 41, is the stepfather of a man acquitted of Mr Chhokar's murder.

He challenged Darshan Chhokar to speak English as Mr Chhokar, his family and representatives from political groups gathered to mark the third anniversary of the murder in November last year.

The 32-year-old was killed in November 1998 outside his girlfriend's home in Overtown, Lanarkshire.

David Chisholm: Breach of the peace

Three men were charged with his murder - but all were acquitted after two separate trials.

Chisholm is the stepfather of Andrew Coulter, one of three men who were charged.

The verdicts prompted the launch of two inquiries into the handling of the case which found flaws in the way it was handled.

Chisholm, of Overdale Place, Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, was charged originally with acting in a racially aggravated manner towards Mr Chhokar, a Sikh who professed to speak "broken English".

Background reports

But, at Hamilton Sheriff Court, Sheriff Dan Russell said there was not enough evidence to show that Chisholm's actions were motivated by racial hatred.

Sheriff Russell said: "It is clear on all the evidence in this case that Mr Chisholm felt he had a grievance, justified or not, on the question of whether Mr Chhokar could speak English.

"I have decided that I consider Mr Chisholm's behaviour on this occasion was amounting to a clear breach of the peace.

"However, I am not satisfied on the evidence that his conduct towards Mr Chhokar was racially motivated."

The sheriff called for background reports and adjourned sentencing until the end of next month.