Man jailed for assaulting taxi driver after refusing to pay cab fare

Man jailed for assaulting taxi driver after refusing to pay cab fare

SINGAPORE: A man refused to pay his cab fare of S$ 23.10 ( US$ 17.14 ) and instead walked away from the taxi when he arrived at his destination.

The taxi driver was trying to stop him, but the customer started arguing with him before breaking his visor.

The attacker, 56- yr- old Lum Chai Meng, was sentenced to five days ‘ jail on Friday ( Mar 22 ).

The Singaporean admitted to one count of deliberately inflicting pain and mischief, with a second count being taken into account.

The prosecutor was informed that Lum flagged a 40-year-old vehicle driver’s car in Chinatown on the evening of March 4 next year.

The cabby asked Lum to pay the S$ 23.10 fare when they arrived at Lum’s Chai Chee location and told him to spend it.

Lum walked away without paying and left without a trace.

The taxi driver demanded Lum to stop and paid his fare as soon as he was able to leave his car.

Lum punched his stomach before making a verbal altercation with the cabby.

The car driver stopped the strikes, though he kept launching them at him.

Lum even hammered the taxi’s before windscreen, cracking it.

Lum was apprehended and given a survive by the taxi, who called the police who immediately followed.

The victim was given two days ‘ medical left after visiting a doctor for his wounds and affection.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Kiera Yu said Lum has numerous prior convictions, albeit dated.

The convictions date back to 1991, with the most recent one coming in 2002, and cover a wide range of crimes, including embezzlement, drug use, and causing hurt freely.

Ms Yu said Lum’s many past views show a pattern of repeated incarceration.

Under the Enhanced Guidance for Plea Scheme in the State Courts, which provides free legal advice from charity attorneys for some accused people, Lim Lei Theng, a defense lawyer from Allen &amp, Gledhill, took on the event.

She claimed Lum has been held on trial for about six weeks and that he has admitted guilt at the earliest possible opportunity.

” While we are thankful to the trial for the determined imprisonment, we urge the court to consider that the origins are… more than 30 years ago”, said Ms Lim.

He really leads a moderately quiet and peaceful living. This can be seen as an aberration”.

She requested that the court take into account a three-week prison sentence for the wounded demand and that Lum cannot afford to pay a good.

According to District Judge Terence Tay, the victim was a car driver and the dispute was over the car survive.

Judge Tay said the vehicle is a public transportation car, which may defend a short jail name, but he concurred with the trial that a large fine would be levied in the case of mischief in the case of the windscreen offence.