Attack on cabby: NUS law prof reportedly sacked

Attack on cabby: NUS law prof reportedly sacked

The National University of Singapore (NUS) law professor who was sentenced to four months in jail for attacking a cabby has reportedly been sacked.

Online media reports quoted an NUS spokesman as saying that 43-year-old Sundram Peter Soosay had been fired on Monday. His academic profile had also been removed from the website of the law faculty, although his picture and name were still listed on the administration page as of last night.

On June 26, the day that Soosay was sentenced, an NUS spokesman had told The Straits Times: "The university expects all members of its community to conduct themselves in accordance with the law. Dr Soosay has been convicted of a serious offence. The university has suspended him without pay since May 29 this year, and will now initiate disciplinary action."

Soosay, who was born in Malaysia and is a Singapore permanent resident, boarded Mr Sun Chun Hua's cab in the early hours of Christmas Day in 2013 while intoxicated, and vomited soon after.

He then alighted near King Albert Park, in Clementi Road, and walked away without paying the fare. After Mr Sun chased him and threatened to call the police, Soosay handed him a $50 note. Instead of waiting for his change, he struck Mr Sun from behind, straddling him and punching his face repeatedly.

Mr Sun, 70, needed multiple stitches on his face and left arm, where he suffered a deep wound that exposed the bone, and had to be hospitalised. His injuries left him unable to work for 17 days, and it took him more than a month to regain the use of his left arm and resume driving.

Soosay, who initially claimed that Mr Sun attacked him first, had told the court through his lawyer that he would be appealing against his conviction and sentence.


This article was first published on July 3, 2015.
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