Three in the dock on cabby-abuse charges

Three in the dock on cabby-abuse charges

SINGAPORE - Three men were hauled to court yesterday for alleged offences against taxi drivers.

Norwegian national Arne Corneliussen, 50, faces two charges of causing hurt to cabby Chan Chuan Heng in Circular Road at about 1am on Sept 22.

The Singapore permanent resident is alleged to have slapped Mr Chan and choked the 46-year- old driver from behind when he fell down.

Corneliussen, who was working for a courier service company, is out on $5,000 bail and has been given permission to travel to Selangor, Malaysia, from today till next Saturday.

His lawyer, Mr Terence Seah, told the court that his client, who was working in Malaysia, has arranged to hand over his work, and is not a flight risk.

The case will be mentioned again on Jan 6.

In another case, 32-year-old Michael Michaelidis, a French chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant, is accused of pulling the handbrake of Mr Wong Tuck Woh's taxi along Killiney Road on Nov 22, causing it to spin and mount a pavement.

The prosecutor asked for two weeks to get a medical report and a vehicle damage report.

Also, he told District Judge Ronald Gwee that Michaelidis, while out on police bail, had tried to leave Singapore.

Michaelidis said through an interpreter that his previous passport had expired, and that he had to travel extensively.

A pre-trial conference is scheduled for Friday. Bail of $15,000 was offered and his passports were impounded.

If convicted of the rash act of endangering the driver's personal safety, he can be jailed for up to one year and/or fined up to $5,000.

In the third case, Swedish national Andreas Michel Blomqvist, 29, pleaded not guilty to punching cabby Koh Tat Wah, 59, on the head several times at a lift lobby of Block 182, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5, at about 1.20am on Sept 20.

A pre-trial conference for that case will be held on Dec 23.

The maximum punishment for causing hurt is two years' jail and a $5,000 fine.


This article was first published on December 10, 2014.
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