Two jailed for attacking cabbies

[osiris]

Mar 10, 2010
Two jailed for attacking cabbies
By Khushwant Singh

ONE taxi driver was punched and head-butted, while another was put in a choke hold by his passenger. The assailants received jail terms as the courts attempt to curb attacks on cabbies.

In the latest case, Scottish engineer Jamie Rae Hislop, 47, was jailed for two months yesterday after he was convicted of hurting cabby Gibson Goh Kok Kiong.

A district court heard how Mr Goh, 46, had picked Hislop up at Holland Village, where the electrical engineer had been having drinks on March 16, 2008. As they headed for Hislop's home at Great World City, he accused Mr Goh of speeding.

Hislop, who was seated next to Mr Goh, then punched the cabby and head-butted him.

Mr Goh stopped the cab and got out to call the police, but Hislop also alighted and chased the cabby around the vehicle. The police then arrived.

In sentencing Hislop, District Judge Hamidah Ibrahim said he had not only acted 'dangerously' and threatened his own safety, but also that of Mr Goh and other road users.