After getting into a quarrel with a taxi driver and even breaking the taxi’s windshield with his hands over a $3 waiting fee, a man was fined $3,000 yesterday (30 November) morning. (No, I didn’t get the zeroes wrong or mixed up.)
The incident occurred from around 12 to 12.10pm on 6 June 2021 near Foch Road, an area around Jalan Besar.
The accused is a 42-year-old man named Mohd Zasman (translated), and he faces charges based on his offences related to mischief and the Protection from Harassment Act.
Here’s what happened.
Accused Did Not Appear when Driver Reached, Driver Was Unable to Wait at Single Lane
According to court documents, the accused had booked a taxi via the ComfortDelGro application on his mobile phone the night before the incident.
He had indicated the pick-up point to be 25 Jalan Berseh, which the driver arrived at on the day of the incident at the specified time.
However, the accused was nowhere to be seen when the driver reached the area. As the driver was driving on a single-lane road, he could not wait there for a prolonged period of time and drove to a nearby location to wait for the accused.
Refused to Pay $3 Waiting Fee, Wife Gave Driver $4 After Quarrel
After a while, the accused and his wife boarded the taxi.
However, the accused found out from the mobile application that he would have to pay an additional $3 as a “waiting fee”, which caused him to get upset. He started scolding the taxi driver while on the way to his destination.
Upon reaching his destination, the accused only paid the taxi fare of $6.30 and refused to pay the $3 waiting fee.
The accused and the taxi driver ended up getting into a quarrel, and the accused’s wife passed $4 to the driver upon witnessing the argument.
Man Hit Windshield After Alighting
However, that wasn’t the end.
After alighting from the taxi, the accused verbally abused the taxi driver and even smashed the windshield with his hands. This caused the windshield to shatter.
The taxi driver also took out his phone and recorded the accused’s actions before filing a police report.
After the incident, ComfortDelGro had to fork out $1,076 in repairs.
Another $250 in losses was incurred since the taxi could not be rented out while it was undergoing repairs.
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