Drunk woman slaps & punches PHV driver who drove her home
Last December, police officers were alerted to an incident of an intoxicated woman attacking her private hire driver in Hougang.
When police officers arrived at the scene, the woman — 35-year-old Chinese national Zhang Xuemin — kicked one of the officers repeatedly.
On Tuesday (28 Oct), Zhang pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing hurt and using criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging their duties.
Woman got drunk after gathering with friends
According to Shin Min Daily News, Zhang got intoxicated on the night of 5 Dec 2024 after attending a gathering with her friends.
Source: Nano Erdozain on Pexels. Image for illustration purposes only
At around 1.40am, her friends helped her into a Grab car, travelling from Cuppage Plaza to her home in Jalan Naung, Hougang.
She was the only passenger.
Drunk woman vomits in back seat of PHV
During the trip, Zhang vomited into a plastic bag and began screaming and crying. She demanded that the driver, a 55-year-old woman, stop the car and let her alight.
However, the driver explained that company policy only permitted her to drop passengers off at their designated destination.
She then continued driving the remaining two kilometres to Jalan Naung.
Source: Google Maps
Once at the destination, Zhang got out of the private hire vehicle and sat down on a grass patch.
The driver inspected the back seat and found traces of vomit. She snapped photos for recording purposes, in accordance with Grab’s guidelines.
Zhang suddenly flew into a rage when she saw this, asking why the driver was taking photos.
Defendant shoved victim to the ground & threw her phone
When the driver tried to explain, Zhang refused to listen, instead grabbing a box of candy and a hand sanitiser bottle from the car and throwing them to the ground.
She proceeded to slap the driver, after which the latter alerted the police.
Zhang became more agitated, repeatedly slapping the PHV driver. She also yanked the victim’s hair and shoved her to the ground.
Source: siriwannapatphotos on Canva. For illustration purposes only
As a result of the attack, the victim suffered scratches on her right arm, bruises on her hands, and headaches.
When the PHV driver tried to record the incident on her phone, Zhang snatched her phone away and threw it on the ground.
Defendant punches victim & kicks police officer
Police officers arrived at the scene at 2.30am and questioned both women separately.
However, Zhang was uncooperative with the officers during their questioning.
At about 2.52am, Zhang suddenly ran towards the driver, who was sitting by the roadside, and punched her arm.
Image by MS News. For illustration purposes only
She remained violent despite warnings from the police. When a female officer tried to grab her legs, she resisted and kicked her in the abdomen multiple times.
The police eventually subdued Zhang at 3.55am.
Woman apologises to PHV driver & police officer
Zhang faced three charges for her actions:
One charge of voluntarily causing hurt
One charge of using criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging her duty
One charge for violating the Liquor Control (Supply and Consumption) Act
She pleaded guilty to two charges on 28 Oct, with the third taken into consideration during sentencing.
The prosecution stated that the victim held a high-risk occupation and that Zhang attacked her on her face and other vulnerable areas.
They thus called for the sentence to serve as a deterrence and sought six to eight weeks in jail, alongside a fine.
During mitigation, Zhang apologised to the PHV driver and the police officer.
Her lawyer highlighted that it was her first criminal offence, that she pleaded guilty early, and felt remorseful. As such, the defence requested leniency in sentencing.
Ultimately, the judge passed a sentence of five weeks’ jail and an S$800 fine. Zhang’s prison term will begin on 11 Nov.
Also read: 3 men who taunted police near Kitchener Road murder scene fined up to S$5K each, plead for leniency in court
3 men who taunted police near Kitchener Road murder scene fined up to S$5K each, plead for leniency in court
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Featured image by MS News.
