Woman jailed for attacking Grab driver while drunk after New Years party



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SINGAPORE: After drinking champagne at a New Year’s Eve party, a woman took a Grab car home but was nervous that the driver was taking the wrong route.

When Grab’s driver went to a gas kiosk for help, the woman followed him out of the car and attacked him multiple times.

Cheryl Hew Soo Fun, 41, was given 10 days in jail and a fine of S $ 1,000 on Tuesday (November 3). She pleaded guilty to one count of willfully causing harm and using criminal force.

A third count was taken into consideration for committing a reckless act of pulling the driver’s shirt and nearly causing an accident.

The court heard that Hew attended a New Years Eve party at a friend’s house at 7 p.m. on December 31, 2017, drinking champagne and getting drunk.

At about 3:30 a.m. the next day, her friend booked a Grab car to take Hew home. However, on the way home, Hew became nervous and said that the man was taking the wrong route.

She started yelling at him and behaving aggressively, so the driver decided to go to a gas kiosk near Hew’s house to seek help.

He stopped the car at a gas station on Telok Blangah Road around 3.50am and walked to the convenience store.

Hew got out of the car and followed him. He then hit the driver several times on the upper back and arm, in acts that were captured on closed-circuit television camera footage.

He continued to follow the driver into the store, tugging on his shirt repeatedly. Later, the driver saw a doctor with redness over his shoulder, mild tenderness in his arm, and mild pain in his upper back.

Assistant District Attorney Edwin Soh requested two weeks in jail and a S $ 1,500 fine, saying Hew injured a public transportation worker in a sustained attack.

She was also intoxicated, an aggravating factor, at the time.

Defense attorney Michael Moey said the driver ignored his client’s instructions and made a mistake. Hew wanted to get out and walk home, but the driver “refused” and drove to the gas station.

Moey said the offense was misplaced and that his client was tired after traveling and drunk on champagne. She offered compensation to the victim, but he refused to accept it, the lawyer said.

Hew appeals against the sentence. For willfully causing harm, she could have been imprisoned for up to two years, fined up to S $ 5,000, or both. For using criminal force, she could have been jailed for up to three months, fined up to S $ 1,500, or both.

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