Man who attacked 2 bus drivers while trying to get to Yishun jailed 9 weeks
SINGAPORE — Over two consecutive days in February, Nurhidayat Selamat boarded SMRT bus Service 171 to Yishun but could not afford the full fare.
When the bus drivers tried to get the 27-year-old to pay up, he became angry and attacked them.
Nurhidayat was jailed nine weeks on Tuesday (16 April) after he admitted to two counts of voluntarily causing hurt to the drivers and one count of using abusive language on one of the victims.
Argument over $2.30 fare
On 8 February, Nurhidayat boarded Service 171 along Bukit Panjang Road and put a $1 coin in the cash payment machine. When bus driver Cheng Peipei asked Nurhidayat where he was headed to, the latter replied “Yishun”.
Cheng then told Nurhidayat that his fare was insufficient as the trip cost $2.30. The duo then got into an argument during which Nurhidayat punched Cheng’s face. Nurhidayat then got off the bus.
Cheng reported the incident to the Bus Operations Control Centre before continuing to Yishun. He was later found to have suffered mild swelling on his left cheek.
Nurhidayat later admitted that he was angry as he only had $1 to pay the fare. He claimed that he also could not understand Cheng and was stressed at the time.
Two incidents in two days
At around 4.30pm the next day, Nurhidayat boarded the same bus service once again with the intention of heading to Yishun. This time he put $2 in the payment collection machine.
Upon hearing that Nurhidayat was going to Yishun, bus driver Raman Sinnathamby told him that the fare was insufficient.
Angered by this, Nurhidayat then punched the acrylic pane behind Raman’s seat. He also hurled a vulgarity at Raman before swinging his arms at Raman’s left arm.
Nurhidayat then shouted “I go and change”, but could not find anyone on the bus to obtain some small change from.
Raman then called the police for assistance. He was not diagnosed with any injuries from the incident.
For voluntarily causing hurt, Nurhidayat could have been jailed up to two years, fined up to $5,000, or both. For using abusive language on a public service worker, he could have been jailed up to 12 months, fined up to $5,000, or both.
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