Cabbie gets suspended jail term for beating passenger

By Kim Rahn

A taxi driver was given suspended jail term for confining and beating a passenger in the cab after the passenger insulted him. / Gettyimagesbank

A taxi driver has been sentenced to 18 months in prison suspended for three years for confining and assaulting a female passenger in his vehicle in an angry response to her insults.

The Seoul Southern District Court said Thursday that it handed down the suspended prison term and 160 hours of community service recently to the 43-year-old cabbie, identified by his surname Jeong.

Jeong picked up the passenger, aged 19, in Seoul at around 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 11. The passenger, under the influence of alcohol, started to insult the driver, saying things like “Can you even make ends meet by driving a cab?” and “Your children are victimized because you are doing this kind of work,” according to the court.

Outraged, Jeong drove the taxi to a remote place, hit her in the face repeatedly and threatened her for about 10 minutes. He tied her hands and covered her eyes with duct tape which he carried in his taxi. He also pressed down on her and threatened her with a knife.

The woman managed to break free from the driver and fled. But she sustained bruises around her eyes which required two weeks of treatment.

“Jeong threatened the young victim who was drunk and alone at night, and restrained her with tape. It is a serious crime, and the victim not only had physical injuries but also mental shock,” the court said in its ruling.

“But the confinement continued for less than 10 minutes. He also committed the crime out of anger in response to the victim's insults. So we considered these factors in deciding on the punishment.”