A taxi driver in Singapore was jailed for two weeks after he kissed an American woman who was his passenger. He was found guilty of outrage of modesty and has also lost his job.
The convict, A. Ashok Kumar, had given an American couple a ride back to their home on June 15, 2016. He overstepped his limits by following the woman to her front door and forcibly kissing her on the cheek and mouth while she was taking her drunk husband into the house.
The incident happened outside the passengers' home at around 11.30 pm, while they were returning from an event at a bar in Circular Road, reports The New Paper.
The 47-year-old victim testified against Kumar, saying that she was supporting her intoxicated husband to get home when he fell into some bushes at their condominium. It was then that she realized Kumar had followed them.
She did not allow the cabbie to touch or help her, being afraid of the reaction of her drunk husband. However, Kumar followed them into the lift and the woman found her in front of their door. She again asked him not to touch or help her. While the woman was closing the door, the taxi driver kissed her on the cheek and then on the mouth.
Kumar, on the other hand, says that both the woman and her husband were drunk and the lady had brought her cheeks close to him as a thank-you gesture while he was leaving. He denies molesting the woman.
The District Judge Luke Tan ruled against the 54-yearold accused by saying that he took advantage of his position as a taxi driver. This has led him to lose his job as well. He will start his jail term on January 31.
Another taxi driver named Mohamed Said Salim has been jailed for six months as he severely hit a motorcyclist that left the rider with a permanent eye injury following a road rage incident in Singapore. The driver pleaded guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt in the State Courts on January 24, 2017.
