Taxi ride spins out of control after dispute
Passenger: He challenged me to fight
By Kor Kian Beng
August 03, 2007
WHAT was supposed to be a 15-minute taxi ride turned into a contentious and frightening roller-coaster ride for both passenger and driver.
Now both parties, offering conflicting accounts, claim the 9km ride that stretched to half an hour had scared them.
Passenger Jaya Shankar, 38, claimed he feared for his life, while cabby Loh Cher Chin, 52, claimed his big-sized passenger scared him.
Mr Jaya claimed he was threatened by the taxi driver, who not only refused to let him alight but also drove him to a secluded area.
The police had to be called in to resolve the dispute which occured at night on 22 Jul.
Mr Loh disputed Mr Jaya's account. He claimed he was the victim.
He claimed that Mr Jaya hurled abuse at him after boarding his taxi outside the Sembawang Shopping Centre on Sembawang Road slightly before 9pm.
Mr Jaya, who denied using vulgar language, said he was rushing to work in Woodlands.
The taxi was in the middle lane before it switched to the left to make the stop, he said.
'There was no 'on call' sign. There was also no sign to show that it was changing shift or headed to any particular place,' he added, claiming that the driver also did not wind down his window to ask for his destination when the cab stopped.
REFUSED PASSENGER
When Mr Jaya got in and said he wanted to go to Woodlands, the driver apparently refused.
'He said he would only go to Tampines because he had to change shift there,' said Mr Jaya, describing the cabby's tone as fierce.
The driver asked him to alight and get another taxi, said Mr Jaya.
But Mr Jaya refused as he felt it would be hard to get another taxi. He said the driver then agreed to take him there and turned right to Gambas Ave, towards Woodlands Industrial Estate.
Near a junction along Gambas Avenue, the cabby stopped the vehicle and asked him to get out, said Mr Jaya. The engine was running and the lights were green.
Mr Jaya refused and claimed that Mr Loh then turned abusive.
'When I asked the driver why he stopped, he turned nasty and started shouting, and even challenged me to a fight,' said Mr Jaya.
'I warned him that I was a civil servant and not to make threats, or I would call the police.'
He claimed the driver challenged him to do so, which Mr Jaya did with his handphone.
While calling the police, he said the driver started driving in the opposite direction from Mr Jaya's destination.
Just before a junction at Admiralty Road West where he was supposed to turn left towards Woodlands, the driver turned right instead towards Sembawang, said Mr Jaya.
'I told him firmly to stop the taxi immediately and that I wanted to get down,' said Mr Jaya, who was seated in the back seat.
'He totally ignored me and when I opened the door to try to get down, he just sped up, even though he knew my door was open.'
He said he feared for his safety as the taxi sped through secluded parts of Sembawang.
'I truly feared for my life because the driver already exhibited seemingly violent behaviour,' he said, adding that he was still on the phone with a police officer who asked to speak to the driver, but he refused to at first.
When he finally spoke to the police officer, Mr Jaya said the driver claimed he had threatened him. Mr Jaya denied doing this.
The cabby was instructed to stop at a bus stop near the junction of Sembawang Road and Yishun Ave 2.
Mr Jaya said he alighted and waited nearby. He claimed the driver, who remained in the taxi, taunted him until the police arrived.
But the drama did not end there. The two men soon got into another argument over the taxi fare of $8.
Said Mr Jaya: 'To add insult to injury, he still wanted me to pay for the taxi ride.'
He refused to pay and was allowed to leave by the officers. He hailed another taxi and rushed to work.
The cabby lodged a police report later that night. Four days later, Mr Jaya lodged a complaint with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Transcab. He also contacted The New Paper.
Why wait four days? Mr Jaya said he didn't do so earlier because he was tired from working night shifts the next two days.
The disgruntled passenger, who still feels sore over the incident, said he wants an apology from the driver and Transcab.
He also wants the company to take disciplinary action against the driver.