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Jun 20, 2011
Cook jailed a year for attacking reluctant cabby
By Khushwant Singh
A COOK got so heated up at a taxi driver who appeared reluctant to stop for him, he gave chase and assaulted the cabby. Sulaimi Ismail was sentenced to a year in jail on Monday.
On Nov 7 last year, the 42-year-old was drinking beer with his buddy Alkabar Abdul Rasid, 39, from about noon at the Redhill Market. Sulaimi's girlfriend Siti Amina Abdul Jalil, 25, joined them at 6.30pm. At 8pm , they left the market as she wanted to go to the KK Women's and Children's Hospital to visit her sister, who had just given birth.
Along Redhill Close, Sulaimi flagged Mr Ng Weng Soon's taxi but the cabby changed the light on his taxi from green, which means available, to red, indicating he was busy. He passed them and stopped at the red light at the Redhill Close and Tiong Bahru junction.
Sulaimi ran up. Flinging open the driver's door, he hurled vulgarities at Mr Ng, 34, for not picking them up. The cabby was also punched in the face several times. By then, Alkabar had joined in the fray. The attack only ended when Ms Siti Amina pulled her boyfriend back.
By then, Alkabar had picked up the $450 that spilled out of the cabby's waist pouch. The two men then went to spent the money on food, cigarettes and more beer. Alkabar was jailed for nine months in February for his role.
Deputy public prosecutor Grace Lim pointed out that he also had previous robbery and drug convictions. Defence counsel Tay San Lee admitted his client's 'dark past' but said the cook was planning to marry and would be a changed man after that.
'That is yet to be seen,' said District Judge Hamidah Ibrahim.
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