Woman jailed for drunken assault on cabby
A self-employed woman was jailed for eight weeks on Thursday (July 13) after admitting to attacking a cabby following a drinking session.
Michelle Ja'quinn Wang Ying Xin, 36, admitted to kicking Mr Pan Chung Woh, 37, in the face, scratching him on the head and face, pulling his head and biting him twice on his left arm on Dec 30, 2015.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Stephanie Koh said Wang, a Singaporean, had consumed "two to three glasses of wine" at a friend's place on Dec 29 that year. After midnight, her friends called a taxi for her.
When Mr Pan's taxi arrived, they told him that Wang had "sobered up" and placed her in the back seat of the taxi.
Wang told Mr Pan that she was going to Sin Ming Road after assuring him that she was all right. Mr Pan pulled up along Bishan Road at about 12.50am to ask Wang for directions to Sin Ming Road.
Suddenly, Wang kicked Mr Pan in the face. She tried to kick him a second time but he dodged. She then pulled his head towards her before scratching him on his head and face.
When Mr Pan tried to stop her, she bit him on his left arm.
Mr Pan decided to drive to Bishan Neighbourhood Police Centre to get help.
Along Bishan Street 23, Wang tried to bite and scratch the taxi driver, and managed to bite him again.
Mr Pan saw a taxi coming out of a carpark and decided to seek help there. He stopped his vehicle, but before he could alight, Wang ran towards the other taxi and sat in the front-passenger seat. On seeing this, the other cabby got out of his vehicle.
A resident heard the commotion and called the police. He went downstairs and saw Wang hitting the dashboard of the second taxi and shouting to be driven home.
When the police arrived, officers repeatedly told Wang to calm down but she was uncooperative and was arrested.
Wang paid $160 in compensation to the victim for his medical expenses and the unpaid taxi fare.
Her lawyer Ashwin Ganapathy said his client had worked in commodity trading for five years before she resigned due to poor market conditions. She was until recently working as a Grab driver.
He said Wang could not recall what happened that day. Her consciousness was likely to have been impaired due to severe intoxication - her blood-alcohol level was found to be 194mg, according to a psychiatrist. The legal limit is 80mg per 100ml of blood
Wang was allowed to defer her eight-week sentence to July 17. She could have been jailed for up to two years and/or fined up to $5,000 for causing hurt.
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