Brisbane’s Chalk Hotel is in the midst of a ‘glassing’ furore after announcing that they are ”considering civil action over the events of Saturday morning, which led to a man being charged with throwing a glass at a fellow patron,” reported the Brisbane Times yesterday (Monday, November 2).

The alleged glassing was the third at the renowned Brisbane pub in the last 18 months and the General Manager, Jason Titman believes that the people involved in such violent incidents need to be held accountable, not just the hotels. The 27-year-old man who has been charged with the glassing offense faced Brisbane Magistrates Court yesterday.

In addition to these criminal proceedings, Titman said Chalk would “seek civil compensation for loss of reputation, costs associated with investigating the matter and any additional compliance costs the hotel needed to introduce”, said the Brisbane Times.

“We’ve been asking for the Government to introduce harsher penalties and ban offenders from licensed premises, but in the meantime, we’re taking up the fight against these cowards and we will pursue them in the courts,” Mr Titman said.

He said lawyers were looking at pursuing action against all those involved in the incident, not just the man charged. That means the 26-year-old victim  of the glassing, who is in hospital and may lose an eye, could also face civil action.

The 26-year-old victim, who was placed in an induced coma at the Princess Alexandra Hospital amid fears he would lose his eye, yesterday regained consciousness.

Titman has been a vocal critic of the State Governments plans to ban glass in pubs and clubs and doesn’t believe it would have any impact on anti-social behaviour. He recently took a swipe at Queensland Premier Anna Bligh saying her vengeance against alcohol is because her father had a battle with booze (click here to read more). .

The State Government last month notices to more than 70 licensed venues throughout Queensland, including the Chalk Hotel, demanding they justify why they shouldn’t be made to use tempered glass or plastic.

This glassing incident has also prompted the Queensland Police Union to put pressure on the Bligh Government to pre-empt its own inquiry into alcohol-fuelled violence by winding back club closing times before the year is over. Union president Ian Leavers wants entertainment hotspots to shut at 2am immediately (click here to read more).