SINGAPORE – An assistant law professor
with the National University of Singapore (NUS) assaulted a cabby
over the change for a $20 fare, leaving him bloodied and in need of
multiple stitches, a court heard yesterday. Sundram Peter Soosay,
43, had vomited in Mr Sun Chuan Hua’s vehicle in the wee hours of
Christmas Day in 2013.
He got out near King Albert Park in Bukit Timah and started to
walk away without paying, but handed over a $50 note after the
70-year-old cabby chased him.
It is alleged that Soosay then attacked Mr Sun from behind as he
returned to the vehicle to retrieve the change, knocking him to the
ground and punching him several times in the face and body, an
incident that was seen by an eyewitness.
In a trial that began yesterday, Mr Sun told the court he could
smell alcohol on the breath of Soosay, who had boarded the cab
along Serangoon North Avenue 1 to go to Clementi Road. To get the
passenger to pay, Mr Sun said he asked him several times and
touched him “lightly” on the arm. Soosay paid when Mr Sun
threatened to make a police report.
As he was walking back to his cab, someone hit him in the head,
causing him to fall face down, said Mr Sun. He tried to get up but
Soosay forced him back on the ground, sat astride him, and
continued punching him in the face, the cabby claimed. Mr Sun, who
needed 17 days of medical leave, told the court in Mandarin that he
had got his taxi licence in 1983 and this had never happened to him
before.
The eyewitness claimed he saw the two men scuffle before the
alleged assault. In his cross-examination of the witness, defence
counsel Amarjit Singh said his client had walked away after the
scuffle and did not attack the cabby.
He suggested that the cabby had provoked Soosay by pushing him
repeatedly in the back and throwing a punch of his own. Mr Sun will
stay on the stand when hearing resumes on Feb 5.
If convicted, Soosay, a permanent resident here, could be jailed
for up to two years and fined up to $5,000. An NUS spokesman said Soosay joined the university in 2008.
“NUS will await the conclusion of legal proceedings before
determining what action, if any, should be taken.” -
