Sep 1, 2010
Jailed for punching cabby
<!-- by line --> By Khushwant Singh
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A FORMER manager of a karaoke lounge was jailed six weeks for punching a cabby twice his age in the early hours of August 17 last year. A district court heard on Tuesday that Foo Chit Seng, 31, had boarded the taxi with two women at 4.30am after some drinks in Geylang. He told taxi driver Peng Kim Sua, 63, to head to Sophia Road so he wanted to send the women home.
Seated in the front passenger seat, he started fiddling with the global positioning system (GPS) monitor fixed on the dashboard. He also did not put on the seat belt. When Mr Peng reminded him to buckle up and not to touch the GPS monitor, Foo became enraged and ordered the taxi to stop immediately.
The meter indicated a fare of $4.80 but he refused to pay up. Instead, he punched Mr Peng's left cheek and jumped out of the taxi with the two women in tow. They then boarded another taxi that was passing by. Although still shocked by the unprovoked attack, Mr Peng called the police while trailing the trio in his cab.
Officers arrived and Foo was arrested. At Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Mr Peng was found to have a sore left cheek. He was also found to be suffering from moderate hearing loss in his left ear but the court was told that this may not have been due to the punch. Foo could have been fined up to $5,000 and/or jailed up to two years.
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