SINGAPORE, Feb 19 — A 36-year-old Singaporean woman was sentenced to two weeks’ imprisonment after she slapped a senior taxi driver during a drunken confrontation over an unpaid fare.

The Straits Times reported that the woman assaulted the 73-year-old cabby after claiming she had neither cash nor cashless payment options to pay her S$24 fare (RM74).

Court documents showed she had boarded the taxi at around 3pm on November 11, smelling strongly of alcohol, and soon fell asleep during the journey. 

When the driver woke her upon reaching her destination on Yishun Street 22, she insisted she needed to return to her unit to retrieve the fare.

“The (driver) asked her to leave her phone in the (taxi) and go up to the unit, but she refused. (He) then suggested following her up to the unit to get the money, but the accused refused this as well,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Adelle Tai, noting that she challenged the driver to take her to a police station instead.

During the trip to Yishun Neighbourhood Police Centre, she reportedly scolded the driver and snapped photos of him and his vehicle, while he remained silent throughout. 

Once they reached the police station vicinity at about 4.20pm, she struck the driver’s left cheek before entering the centre, where she was arrested.

The cabby later sought treatment at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and was granted a day of medical leave. 

DPP Tai highlighted that the assault was unprovoked and that taxi drivers are a particularly vulnerable group, deserving stronger deterrent sentencing.