By: Kheng-Liang Tan
The State Courts sentenced the CEO of a German MNC to a 2-week jail term for causing hurt by slapping a Taxi Driver. In addition, he was fined $1,000 for causing damage to the Taxi.
45 year-old Jochen Thewes was the CEO of DB Schenker Logistics (Asia Pacific) when he got drunk at approximately 3.50am on Sept 24 last year.
Although he wanted to board a cab along Club Street, the taxi driver Malcom Xu whose taxi he approached did not want to accept the job as Thewes appeared drunk. Xu thus locked the door.
However, Thewes walked over to the driver’s side and kicked the locked door. When Xu came out to check the damage, Thewes pushed him and slapped him on his left cheek. He suffered from a bruised and bleeding nose.
In his defence, Thewes said that he was too intoxicated to remember anything and had paid a compensation of $2,950 to the driver and and additional $250 for repair works for his Taxi.
However, District Judge Salina Ishak said that this was “an unprovoked assault by an intoxicated offender on a public transport worker in the course of his duty in the wee hours of the morning”
Thewes is appealing against both the conviction and sentence.