Man who punched taxi driver for not making illegal U-turn jailed 4 weeks
Upset that a taxi-driver had failed to make an illegal U-turn as requested, a male passenger punched the driver in the eye while the taxi was moving.
Rajendran Valaitham, 49, was jailed four weeks on Thursday (3 January) in the State Courts after he pleaded guilty to one count of voluntarily causing hurt to SMRT taxi driver Ong Kian Hong.
According to court documents, Rajendran, a store manager, and his wife boarded the taxi at Yishun MRT Station on 1 May last year. The couple were heading towards Ang Mo Kio.
While the taxi was along Yishun Avenue 2, Rajendran asked Ong to make a U-turn at the junction of Yishun Central and Yishun Avenue 5, in front of Northpoint Shopping Centre. However, Ong said it was illegal to make a U-turn there and said he would do so at the subsequent junction.
Rajendran became angry and began arguing with the 58-year-old taxi driver. He shook and hit the back of Ong’s seat several times, angering Ong.
When Ong used an expletive on Rajendran, the latter punched the driver’s left eye. The action caused Ong’s spectacles to scratch the corner of his left eye and the driver to sustain a small wound.
Ong told Rajendran he would drive to the police station, prompting the couple to escape by alighting from the taxi at a traffic junction before Yishun Neighbourhood Police Centre.
Despite Ong’s efforts, Rajendran fled before the police arrived. Ong called the police to file a report.
Seeking a four-month jail term for Rajendran, Deputy Public Prosecutor Lim Wei Yang said the passenger could have affected Ong’s ability to continue working.
Rajendran’s lawyer, Vangadasalam Suriamurthi, sought a fine for his client.
District Judge Mathew Joseph told Rajendran that he should control his temper, describing his behaviour as “deplorable for an adult”.
For voluntarily causing hurt, Rajendran could have been jailed up to two years and/or a fined up to $5,000.
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