Road rage driver's jail sentence reduced from 8 months to 2 weeks
By Claire Huang
POSTED: 01 Jul 2013 5:11 PM
SINGAPORE: A man who hurt a taxi driver will serve a reduced sentence of two weeks' jail, down from the original eight months.
He will also have to make a compensation of S$120 to the taxi driver.
This comes after the High Court dismissed S Gopikrishnan's appeal against his conviction.
But the judge said his original sentence was excessive.
Gopikrishnan was driving his 13-year-old son to school on 3 May 2011.
They were along Bartley Road during the morning rush hour when the accused swerved into a taxi's path.
Both drivers were angry.
The accused became enraged when he realised the cab driver had picked up a camera to take his picture.
He got out of his car and tried to stop the cab driver.
During the confrontation, Gopikrishnan pulled the cab driver's middle finger, causing it to fracture.
In his judgement, Justice Choo Han Teck said the defence's argument was "a denial of contact" so as to make the point that the "injury was fabricated by the taxi driver".
The judge did not believe the accused's account that there was no contact.
As for the victim's injury, the judge ruled that it was "simple hurt".
He pointed out that the injury was not as serious as some other road rage cases.
For example, an accused was given three months' jail for slamming the victim's car door in the victim's face.
For this reason, the judge said Gopikrishnan's sentence was "manifestly excessive" and he reduced it.
- CNA/xq
