Bus passenger jailed for 'unprovoked' attacks on SMRT drivers

SINGAPORE — Unhappy when told that he had paid insufficient bus fare for travel to Yishun on consecutive days, a man punched two drivers of SMRT bus service 171.

For assaulting the drivers and insulting one of them, Nurhidayat Selamat, 27, was jailed for nine weeks on Tuesday (April 16), with his sentence backdated to March 1.

The court heard that the first incident occurred on the morning of February 8. Nurhidayat boarded the bus driven by Mr Cheng Peipei along Bukit Panjang Road, in front of block 604.

The 36-year-old driver noticed that Nurhidayat had slipped a dollar coin into the farebox and asked where the latter wanted to go.

When Nurhidayat said his destination was Yishun, Mr Cheng told him that his fare was insufficient as the amount required was S$2.40.

Upon hearing this, Nurhidayat became agitated and started arguing with Mr Cheng before he unexpectedly threw a punch at the driver.

He immediately alighted from the bus and walked away as Mr Cheng reported the incident to SMRT’s Bus Operations Control Centre.

Although he was injured, the driver continued driving the bus to its final destination in Yishun.

According to a medical report from Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Mr Cheng suffered mild swelling on his left eye and cheek.

During the investigation, Nurhidayat said he was angry that he only had a dollar with him and he “could not understand” what Mr Cheng was saying. He added that these two factors had made him feel stressed.

The following afternoon, Nurhidayat again boarded the 171 bus service from Bukit Panjang with the intention of travelling to Yishun.

This time, he tried to insert a S$2 note into the ticket machine but was told by the driver, Mr Raman Sinnathamby, that he needed an additional thirty cents.

Nurhidayat turned violent and started punching the acrylic pane behind the driver’s seat. He also hurled insults in Malay at the 57-year-old driver before swinging his arm to hit Mr Raman’s left arm.

Both parties remained on the bus without further altercation till the police arrived.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Seah Ee Wei said the attacks by Nurhidayat on the drivers were “unprovoked”.

She also noted that Nurhidayat had a history of voluntarily causing hurt to others. In April 2016, he was fined S$3,500 for punching a fellow bus passenger.

For each count of voluntarily causing hurt to others, Nurhidayat could have been jailed up to two years and/or fined up to S$5,000.

For using obscenities on a public service worker, he could have been fined up to S$5,000 and/or jailed up to 12 months.