5 weeks jail, S$800 fine for drunk woman who punched Grab driver, kicked police officer

SINGAPORE: A 35-year-old woman who assaulted a female Grab driver, 55, was given a five-week jail sentence and an S$800 fine after she pleaded guilty earlier this week to two of the charges filed against her.

Zhang Xuemin, a Chinese national, was on her way home at around 1:40 a.m. on December 5, 2024, after a night out with friends. Having consumed alcohol during the evening, she was inebriated when she got into the Grab car at Cuppage Plaza that had been booked to take her home to Hougang, according to a report in Shin Min Daily News.

After Zhang, who was alone in the car, vomited into a plastic bag, she started crying and yelling, and told the driver to stop so she could get down two kilometres from her home at Jalan Naung. But the driver told her that it was a rule that drivers could only allow passengers to get off at the destinations they had booked.

When they arrived at Jalan Naung, Zhang alighted from the car, but instead of entering her home, she sat down outside. She was therefore present when the driver took photos of the back of the car after she had found vomit, which Grab’s regulations require her to do.

Seeing this angered Zhang, who confronted the driver and would not listen to her explanations. Instead, she began throwing items from the car, including a bottle of hand sanitiser.

She also grew violent toward the driver, slapping her, pulling her hair, and pushing her till she fell to the ground after the driver called the police to request help. The attack on the driver caused scratches and bruises, and she also suffered from headaches.

In addition to attacking the driver, Zhang also threw the driver’s phone on the ground when the driver tried to film her actions.

When the police arrived at 2:30 a.m., Zhang proved to be uncooperative. Furthermore, when they were questioning the driver, Zhang suddenly ran up to the woman and punched her in the arm. Even after the police warned her repeatedly, she persisted in being violent and kicked a female officer in the stomach when the officer tried to restrain her by holding on to her legs. They were finally able to get her under control shortly before 4:00 a.m.

For her actions on December 5, 2024, she was slapped with one charge of voluntarily causing hurt, another for using criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging her duty, and a third for violating the Liquor Control Act.

Zhang pleaded guilty to two charges on Tuesday (Oct 28), and apologised to both the driver and the police officer she had injured. Her jail sentence starts on Nov 11. /TISG

Read also: S’poreans defend Grab driver after woman complained that he made it hard to get back an item she left in his car