SINGAPORE: A food delivery rider backed out of paying his taxi fare and held a knife to the cabby’s chest, asking: “Do you want to let me go or not?”
He also used his wife’s car to deliver food without her permission even though he had no driving licence, and was stopped by traffic police for using his phone while driving.
Mark Teo Sin Yan, 32, was sentenced on Tuesday (Dec 13) to three months and 22 weeks’ jail, a fine of S$500 and a driving ban of 12 months.
He pleaded guilty to an assortment of crimes including threatening the taxi driver with a fruit knife, lodging a false police report, driving without a licence and cheating a buyer on Carousell.
The court heard that Teo flagged down a taxi along Eu Tong Sen Street on May 27 last year.
He asked the 62-year-old cab driver to take him to two different places – first Ang Mo Kio, then to Hougang.
At the Ang Mo Kio destination, Teo asked the driver to wait for him, saying he wanted to alight for a short while to hand an item to a friend.
Concerned that Teo might leave without making payment, the cabby asked for a deposit of S$10.
Teo told the driver that he did not have any cash with him. The taxi driver found this suspicious and took a photo of Teo with his phone.
After arriving at the second destination, Teo told the driver that he did not have money to pay the fare. He claimed he had called someone to meet him there with cash for the payment.
The victim parked his taxi at an open car park and messaged a friend to head to the location as he suspected that Teo would not make payment.
In fact, Teo did not ask anyone to go down with money. Instead, he had lied to the victim to stall for time.
When he noticed the taxi driver sending messages, Teo believed that the driver would not let him leave without paying.
Teo took out a 13cm-long fruit knife, leaned forward from the rear seat and held the knife next to the victim’s chest while he pressed down on the victim’s shoulder to restrain him.
Teo then asked the cabby: “Do you want to let me go or not?”
Alarmed and fearing for his safety, the cabby moved to get away and sustained a slash on his shoulder. Teo alighted from the cab and walked away.
Teo surrendered that same day. He was later released on bail.
TOOK HIS WIFE’S CAR, STOPPED BY TRAFFIC POLICE
On Nov 18, 2021, Teo decided to use his wife’s car to take on delivery jobs instead of using his electric bicycle, as it had been raining.
He found the keys to her car in her handbag and took the vehicle without her knowledge and consent. He did not think she would allow him to use the car.
While he was driving along Yio Chu Kang Road towards Thomson Road, a traffic police officer saw Teo using his phone while driving.
The officer stopped Teo and he admitted that he did not have a valid driving licence. He had been listening to an audio message on the Telegram chat application when the officer spotted him.
Teo was arrested again.
He admitted to other unrelated offences, including cheating a Carousell user by putting up computer speakers for sale and accepting a PayNow transfer of S$500 without delivering the goods.
Teo had also relinquished control of his bank account to a person, and the account was later used to launder criminal proceeds.
He also lodged a false police report claiming that his online accounts, including his Carousell, bank, PayNow and WhatsApp accounts, had been compromised.
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