Man gets 4 weeks' jail for assaulting taxi driver who refused to pick his friend up at Clarke Quay

SINGAPORE — When a taxi driver rejected Koh Liang Cai's friend’s request for a ride after a night of drinking, he reached through the passenger window and punched the driver twice.

Koh’s friend, Muhammad Taleb Kishen, then assaulted the victim until he suffered a broken nose along with bruises across his face, arms and chest.

Koh, 30, was jailed four weeks on Friday (Oct 28) for his part in the attack. He began serving his sentence immediately.

When he pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing hurt to the ComfortDelGro driver, the court heard that this was not his first brush with the law.

He was given 18 months’ probation in 2007 for criminal intimidation when he was aged 15. In 2017, he was fined S$2,000 for fighting in a public place.

Taleb was sentenced to 17 weeks' jail earlier this month for voluntarily causing grievous hurt and using abusive language towards a public servant.

WHAT HAPPENED

The incident took place in the wee hours of Jan 1, 2020, near Clarke Quay. 

Around 2.30am, Taleb, Koh, Koh’s wife and other friends left the Zouk nightclub after drinking.

When Koh spotted the victim's taxi parked along River Valley Road, he called Taleb and Taleb’s wife over to the vehicle.

Taleb asked the taxi driver if he could send his wife home. The driver rejected the request, telling him to get another taxi from the taxi stand instead.

Koh reached through the left front passenger seat window and punched the driver’s face.

Taleb then held the taxi driver down from the driver’s side window, allowing Koh to throw another punch at the back of the driver’s head.

Taleb later began punching the driver’s face repeatedly and placed him in a chokehold, only releasing it when police officers arrived. Koh left the scene before that.

The victim did not retaliate out of fear and did not drive away because he was afraid of injuring others in the vicinity, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Keith Thirumaran told the court.

The prosecutor added that Koh’s assault caused the victim “bodily pain”, but Taleb’s actions resulted in the fracture of the victim’s nose, among other injuries.

The driver was given seven days of hospitalisation leave and nine days of outpatient leave. Taleb later made full restitution of S$1,101 to the driver for his medical fees.

In sentencing Koh on Friday, District Judge Eddy Tham said that such violent behaviour cannot be condoned.

He also noted that Koh was the first aggressor and had previously broken the law.

"You are no longer a young person, you are 30 years old already. It's time to wake up," the judge added.

District Judge Tham also referred to what Koh's lawyer said in mitigation about his parents' poor health, saying: "Out of concern for your parents and your ability to look after them, all the more you should keep clear of any offences."

Koh could have been jailed up to three years or fined up to S$5,000, or punished with both.