Woman Who Evaded Taxi Fare and Struck Driver With Pizza Board to be Given Reformative Training

It’s a real smack in the face for taxi drivers when passengers try to evade fares.

This particular uncle got smacked in his face both figuratively and literally.

With a pizza board.

A 20-year-old woman is being sentenced to Reformative Training (RT) after several attempts to evade transport fares and assaulting a taxi driver. The woman cannot be named as she first broke the law when she was 16.

Through the years, she committed offences such as stealing her classmate’s mobile phone and items from shops. Between July 2019 and July 2020, the woman’s evaded transport fares accumulated to $41, at least 13 times. 

According to the woman’s prior probation and reformative training reports, she shows no signs of remorse and is still unreceptive to parental control.

As such, she will be sentenced to RT again, where the structured environment could be beneficial for the woman.

What Happened

In July 2020, Facebook user Kelvin Chua detailed his father’s experience dealing with an unruly passenger on the platform. His father was in his 70s and was assaulted and cheated of his cab fare.

 

The woman boarded the cab without a mask and borrowed the driver’s phone, which she used the whole ride through. At her destination, she got out of the taxi without paying and told the driver to wait. Afraid of getting cheated, the driver got out of the car and pursued her for the taxi fare.

As the driver tried to take photos of her using his mobile phone, she assaulted him and threw a pizza board she picked up from a nearby restaurant. The drama continued as she returned the cab to grab the NETS machine, flinging it towards the driver because he refused to delete her photo.

Thankfully, the driver did not sustain any major injuries. A police report was made and the woman was apprehended within a day.

Reformative Training

RT is a rehabilitative sentencing option for individuals aged between 14 and 21. Offenders undergo a comprehensive rehabilitation programme at RT Centres.

Unlike community-based sentencing, RT does not let the offender remain in society and leaves a criminal record. Through counselling, academic training and vocational training, offenders are prepared to be reintroduced to society in the future.

Hopefully the offender can turn over a new leaf after undergoing RT.

Also, don’t forget to pay your friendly cabbies and drivers. If not, our next piece on fare evasion is going to be about you instead.

Feature Image: Facebook (Kelvin Chua)