Man jailed for unprovoked attack on cabby after ride

A jobless man who launched an unprovoked attack on a cabby was given a three-week jail term yesterday.

Bryan Mark Adam Perera, 30, pleaded guilty to punching Mr Ang Khuan, 60, in the stomach at Serangoon North Avenue 3 on Nov 10, 2012.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Christine Liu said that at about 5.20am, the victim picked up Perera at Serangoon Garden Way.

Perera sat in front and directed him to Block 546, Serangoon North Avenue 3.

When they arrived about 10 minutes later, he told the victim he had no cash on him.

The cabby said he could pay using Nets or MasterCard, and Perera used the latter to pay the $7.50 fare.

But he did not alight. Instead, he began shouting at the driver before punching him in his stomach. Mr Ang got out and Perera also followed, continuing to shout at the cabby.

After a while, Perera's family members arrived at the scene and tried to calm him down. They had heard the commotion from their unit and recognised his voice. Before they took him away, he tried to punch Mr Ang again.

Perera's lawyer said his client "had a few drinks that night" and was remorseful for his actions. He had been convicted of disorderly behaviour twice in 2005.

District Judge Tan Boon Heng said Perera had inflicted verbal and physical abuse on his victim in attacks that were completely unprovoked. It was fortunate that the cabby did not suffer any serious injuries or the sentence would have been stiffer.

Perera was allowed to defer the start of his sentence until next Thursday. He could have been jailed for up to two years and/or fined up to $5,000.

elena@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on September 05, 2014.
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