A STOMPer said this cabby missed a turn for the second time, then started abusing him verbally, before hitting him.
Said the STOMPer:
"I took this cabby’s taxi from Admirality MRT.
"He missed a turn for the second time, then shouted at me, asking me why I did not tell him earlier.
"When I said he should not shout like that since it was his fault for missing the turn two times, he abused me, called me a ‘bastard’ a few times, jump on me and hit me.
"I took a photo of his cab and his face and called the police, while he ran away.
"Police could not do anything because they said it’s a non-seizable offence."
According to a letter from the police to The Straits Times Forum, the key difference between a seizable and a non-seizable offence is that for seizable offences (such as murder, rape, voluntarily causing grievous hurt or causing hurt with weapons), police officers are legally empowered to arrest without a warrant.
For non-seizable offences (such as misappropriation of property and mischief), police require a warrant of arrest or an order from a magistrate to make an arrest.
The STOMPer added:
"Isn’t it the duty of the police to trace him and investigate the case, instead of telling me to report to Silver Cab?
"when I reported to Silver Cab they said they have asked the driver to apologise and he refused and they could not force him."
The STOMPer said Silver Cab should terminate the cabby’s employment if he refuses to apologise.
