Millionaire houseboat tycoon, 60, ‘chased tenant with roofer’s tool shouting ‘I’ll break your f***ing head’ and slapped him with gardening gloves in row over £5,500 charges at west London boatyard, court hears
- Millionaire houseboat tycoon Myck Djuberg, 60, chased Klaus Beversluis, 52
- Djuberg ‘sprung’ additional and unwarranted charges on tenant Mr Beversluis
- The 60-year-old then chased his victim with a tool after he queried £5,500 fees
- Tycoon was convicted in his absence and a warrant has been issued for his arrest
A millionaire houseboat tycoon who chased a tenant with a roofer’s tool and threatened to ‘break his head’, has been convicted of assault.
Myck Djuberg, 60, lunged at his tenant Klaus Beversluis, 52, with the tool during a dispute over the rental at the Hampton Riviera Boat Yard in Richmond.
Mr Beversluis told Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court he had rented mooring space for five years before Djuberg ‘sprung’ some £5,500 of additional and unwarranted charges.
But when he queried the fees, he was chased by Djuberg, who screamed: ‘I’ll break your f****** head.’
Bodycam footage shows the moment houseboat tycoon Myck Djuberg, 60, lunged at his tenant
Klaus Beversluis, 52 (pictured outside court), was embroiled in a row over the rental at the Hampton Riviera Boat Yard in Richmond. When he approached Djuberg, he was attacked
Djuberg was convicted of assault in his absence and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Footage shown to the court shows IT consultant Mr Beversluis – who wore a clip-on body camera – as he approached Djuberg in his office, before being attacked.
He said: ‘I basically said we would vacate the premises if he had refunded everything we had pre-paid. I offered to vacate immediately, he said no and started trying to evict us.
‘He tried to get another £5,500 out of us by charging extra service charges which were not due at all.
‘The second I came in he leapt up from behind his desk and almost ran towards me. He shouted ‘get out of here, get out of here’ at me.’
James Tucker, prosecuting, said Mr Beversluis was ‘chased out by Mr Djuberg who picked up a lead dresser and shouted: ‘I’ll break you f****** head.’
The victim added: ‘I had no doubt that he was prepared to use it on my head and do me serious damage. I felt absolutely terrified and ran away as quickly as I could.
‘There was no need to hit me or pick up a deadly weapon in my view and threaten to break my head. I did not show any signs of aggression towards him.’
Magistrate Mandy Lamplough said: ‘We do not find that Mr Djuberg acted in self defence. He has not come to court or given any evidence today.
‘We therefore find Myck Djuberg guilty of assault by beating and using threatening words and behaviour with the intent to cause fear or provoke unlawful violence. We are issuing a warrant not with bail.’
Kieran Galvi, defending, said: ‘It was plain he didn’t want this man in his private office. What he did was proportionate. I say the witness has played down the background of all this.’
Djuberg, who lives in Molesey, Surrey, denied but was convicted of assault by beating and using threatening words and behaviour with the intent to cause fear or provoke unlawful violence.
He did not appear at court and a warrant is out for his arrest.
Last year, the property tycoon was charged with a £3.5 million fraud after allegedly selling houseboats despite knowing they did not come with residential mooring licences.
According to the Evening Standard, he was accused of fraudulently taking between £850,000 and £1.25 million on four sales at the Hampton Riviera Boatyard. Djurberg was charged with four counts of fraud by false representation.