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Foreigner jailed for beating up taxi driver

April 30th, 2013 | Author: Editorial

Norwegian who beat up a taxi driver (ST Photo)

A Norwegian man, Sindre Christian Myhrhagen, has been sentenced to six weeks’ jail yesterday (29 Apr) for assaulting a taxi driver after he thought the driver was cheating him over the $4 midnight surcharge.

He was also ordered to compensate the taxi driver $1,699 for his medical expenses and loss of earnings.

The 27-year-old Shipping charterer who earns $10,500 a month, admitted to using criminal force to grab Mr Lee Chin Chye, 49, by the neck and shoving him across a hotel lobby into a lift.

The incident happened on 7 March this year in the early hours at about 4am. Myhrhagen had drinks at MBS before hailing a taxi to go back to his hotel. Upon arriving at the hotel, Myhrhagen paid the meter fare but refused to pay the $4 midnight surcharge.

The taxi driver followed Myhrhagen to the hotel and got the concierge staff to ask him to pay the surcharge. Myhrhagen later paid the surcharge before starting to assault the driver. The security supervisor then separated the two men.

The taxi driver suffered a back injury as a result.

In his defence, Myhrhagen said he thought he was being ripped off by Mr Lee.

The judge said Myhrhagen’s action is “both shocking and deplorable”. He said that public transport workers must be protected against passengers who exhibit violence because they are drunk.

“The accused had behaved in a thuggish and violent manner,” the judge added. “This may be a one- off incident for the accused but that is clearly of little consolation to the victim, who had to work long hours in the wee hours of the morning and suffer indignity and trauma of being assaulted in public.”

Myhrhagen could have been jailed for up to two years and/or fined up to $5,000 for causing hurt.

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