Drunk passenger who grabbed taxi driver's neck and slapped police officer gets jail

SINGAPORE: An intoxicated man boarded a cab at a taxi stand and later grabbed the driver by the neck after the driver said he could not understand his drop-off instructions.

The passenger let go only when the taxi driver agreed to drive him home, but the cabby drove to a neighbourhood police centre instead.

Undeterred by where he was, the passenger slapped a police officer four times when he was told there were no toilets at the centre.

The unruly passenger, 60-year-old Singaporean Tang Meng Huat, was sentenced to 14 weeks' jail on Monday (Jan 8).

Tang pleaded guilty to one charge each of voluntarily causing hurt and hurting a police officer to deter him from his duty. A third charge was considered in sentencing.

The court heard that Tang and a friend boarded the victim's Trans-cab taxi at the Kovan MRT taxi stand at about 11pm on Jun 1 last year.

The duo told the 72-year-old cabby that they had two destinations - the first was a Caltex petrol station in Mountbatten for Tang's friend.

The taxi driver ferried the pair to Mountbatten where Tang's friend alighted.

The cabby then asked Tang where his destination was. Tang gave two locations - Serangoon North Avenue 3 and Bedok North Avenue 1.

He also told the cabby to go to Block 215, but then changed this to Block 512.

The taxi driver then told Tang he was unable to comprehend his instructions. When Tang heard this, he said he wanted to alight.

The cabby stopped his vehicle for Tang to alight, but Tang did not. Instead, he grabbed the older man's neck with both hands.

The victim struggled to free himself, but Tang released his grip only when the victim said he would drive Tang home.

The victim then drove off to the nearest police station, arriving at Hougang Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC) just before midnight.

THE POLICE-OFFICER-TURNED-VICTIM

The second victim, a 23-year-old police officer, was on duty at the NPC when he noticed the taxi at the car park gantry.

The cabby kept sounding his horn, so the officer opened the gantry gate and approached the taxi. The driver then alighted and told the officer that Tang had strangled him.

At this time, Tang alighted from the cab, reeking of alcohol. He told the officer that he wished to go home.

The police officer told Tang that he could not leave the scene, and Tang grabbed the officer's hand.

The officer contacted his colleagues for assistance, broke free from Tang's grip and gave him a warning.

Tang then claimed that the taxi driver was lying and kept asking to go to the toilet.

The police officer told Tang that there were no toilets in the NPC. 

Tang then slapped the police officer four times on his left cheek. Soon after, backup arrived and Tang was arrested.

Both victims sought medical attention, with the taxi driver suffering a mild bruise on his neck and the police officer diagnosed with assault complicated by a bruise on his face.

Tang was allowed to begin his jail term on Feb 14.