Man jailed, fined for hurting taxi driver
By Claire Huang
POSTED: 29 Apr 2013 7:48 PM
A Norwegian man has been sentenced to six weeks' jail for hurting a taxi driver after he thought he was cheated of a midnight surcharge of S$4. He was also ordered to compensate the victim S$1,699.
SINGAPORE: A Norwegian man has been sentenced to six weeks' jail for hurting a taxi driver after he thought he was cheated of a midnight surcharge of S$4.
He was also ordered to compensate the victim S$1,699.
Shipping charterer, Sindre Christian Myhrhagen, admitted to one count of using criminal force to grab Mr Lee Chin Chye, 49, by the neck and shoving him across a hotel lobby into a lift.
The 27-year-old was convicted of another charge of causing hurt to the taxi driver by pushing him against a lift wall.
The incident happened on 7 March this year, close to 4am.
Myhrhagen had drinks before the incident and Mr Lee had driven the accused back to Grand Park Orchard Hotel, where he stayed.
The accused paid the fare of S$8 but did not realise there was an additional midnight surcharge of S$4.
The taxi driver followed Myhrhagen to the hotel and got the concierge staff to ask the accused to pay him the surcharge.
The court was shown a video clip where Myhrhagen, dressed only in boxer shorts, came down, handed the money to Mr Lee and grabbed his neck and started pushing him across the lobby, into the lift.
The taxi driver suffered a back injury as a result.
The prosecution said in its submissions that the victim was not the aggressor, despite defence's claim.
It added that although a hotel staff tried to intervene, Myhrhagen continued to shove the cabby.
Even if the accused felt the cabby had overcharged him, the prosecution said Myhrhagen could have lodged a complaint with the hotel staff.
Given all these aggravating factors, the prosecution asked for a global sentence of more than four weeks.
But this was met with strong objection by the defence, which said Myhrhagen clearly thought he was being ripped off by Mr Lee.
The defence explained that its client had paid the fare, and as he was a foreigner, he did not realise there was a midnight surcharge.
It added that Myhrhagen was overcharged by a taxi driver a day before the incident.
The defence stressed that its client is utterly remorseful and regrets his action. These cut no ice with the district judge, who described the acts as shocking and deplorable.
The judge said the accused behaved in a thuggish and violent manner, which warranted a custodial sentence higher than what the prosecution asked for.
- CNA/xq
