Man who robbed elderly cabby of $42 gets jail and caning
SINGAPORE — A 37-year-old man who robbed a 72-year-old cabby of $42 was on Monday (6 January) sentenced to two years and three months’ jail along with one stroke of the cane.
Li Han Cai, who works as a driver for online supermarket RedMart, pleaded guilty to one charge of extortion.
On 29 March last year, at about 1am, taxi driver Tan Guan Wah started his shift. Shortly after, at about 1.30am, he picked up Li at Lorong 27 Geylang.
Li directed Tan to a car park in Punggol Central and the fare came up to $20.
“The accused then grabbed (Tan) from behind, using his left hand to grab the side of (the cabby’s) neck and placing a sharp object on the right side of his neck”, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Seah Ee Wei.
Li asked for all of Tan’s money and the latter handed over the $42 that he had in his shirt pocket. Tan then asked for some change for work and Li handed him back $6 - in the form of three $2 notes.
The culprit then took Tan’s taxi key and fled, throwing the key into some bushes along the way.
Tan called the police saying he had been robbed, giving a description of the perpetrator.
Officers later found the taxi key, on which Li’s DNA was found.
On 6 December, Li made restitution of $36 to Tan. His taxi fare, however, remains unpaid.
In mitigation, Li’s lawyer Wee Hong Shern noted that his client had returned $6 to the victim when the latter asked for some change for work.
The punishment for extortion is between two and seven years’ jail, along with caning. Only male offenders below 50 are liable for caning.
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