Chitchat Sinkie cabbie kenna punched in the nose by first world angmor again

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Swiss man jailed four weeks for punching taxi driver in Singapore

Wan Ting Koh
Yahoo News Singapore
August 15, 2017

A Swiss national punched a taxi driver on the nose as he found the victim rude and was unhappy that the card payment option was not available.

Yannick Alexandre Varidel, 28, who is in Singapore on a visit pass, was jailed four weeks on Tuesday (15 August) on one count of voluntarily causing hurt to Transcab driver Ng Hong Poh, 53.

The court heard that around 1am on 18 March this year, Ng picked up Varidel and a female friend from OUE Tower. Before the pair boarded the taxi, Ng informed them that he could only accept cash payment as he did not have an ATM terminal in his taxi.

Varidel’s friend told Ng that she could pay the fare by cash before Ng drove the passengers to Studio M Hotel.

When the taxi arrived at the destination about 10 minutes later, an argument broke out between Varidel and his friend as she refused to leave the taxi with Varidel. The Swiss insisted on paying the cab fare with his ATM card and handed his card over to Ng.

The taxi driver said that he was unable to accept card payment and dropped the card while returning it to Varidel. In response, Varidel punched Ng in his face.

Ng, who went to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital for treatment, was found to suffer tenderness on his nose and over the upper lip.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Kumaresan Gohulabalan asked for four weeks’ jail, saying that the attack was “unprovoked” and “out of the blue”. He added that the taxi driver had already informed Varidel that he was unable to accept card payment before Varidel boarded the cab.

In mitigation, Varidel’s lawyer Megan Joan Chia said that her client had acted under the influence of alcohol and out of anger.

Varidel had been arguing with his female friend and was frustrated over the lack of card payment, Chia added. He had also mistaken Ng to be “discourteous” to him when Ng dropped the card.

Pointing out that her client had been stranded in Singapore for some five months, Chia added that Varidel had tried to reach out to Ng to apologise but had been rebuffed.

The lawyer added that her client, who was of a tall stature, did not intend to “cause serious harm” as Ng’s injuries would have been “far more serious” if he did.

“This is a one-off infraction completely uncharacteristic of [Varidel],” said Chia.

In sentencing the Swiss national, District Judge Lim Tse Haw said that a “no nonsense attitude” was needed towards ensuring the safety of public transport workers.

For voluntarily causing hurt, Varidel could have been jailed up to two years and/or fined $5,000.


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