[Photo Credits: EPA-EFE, South China Morning Post]

A New Zealand citizen who was heavily intoxicated from a night of drinking in Singapore flew into a rage when a taxi driver missed a turn while driving him home, punching him several times and fracturing his nose.

He also flung the driver’s mobile phone to the ground when the driver said that he wanted to call the police.

Eugene Gerrard Buckley, 59, was on Friday jailed for 30 weeks or about seven-and-a-half months. His sentence was backdated to November 20 last year when he was held in remand.

He pleaded guilty to one charge of causing grievous hurt to 60-year-old taxi driver Tan Heng Choon. Two other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

The court heard that Buckley went to The Drunken Poet, a pub at Orchard Towers, on the evening of February 26 last year and consumed multiple bottles of beer. He drank more at another bar and got into Tan’s taxi at about 3am the next day. A woman who was not identified had accompanied him.

He told Tan to take him to his Stevens Close home, but the taxi driver missed the turn there. An exasperated Buckley told him: “You idiot, you overshot the location.”

Tan stopped his taxi at the nearby Dalvey Road after being told to do so by Buckley, who said he wanted to settle the fare. While the driver was checking his taxi meter, Buckley repeatedly uttered a vulgarity and grumbled. He got into the front passenger seat to hand over his credit card for payment.

Tan then dropped his card, which resulted in Buckley raising his voice and punching Tan on the face. The taxi driver tried to defend himself and managed to block further assaults.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Phoebe Tan said the driver was in great pain by then, and bled from his face and nose. Getting out of the vehicle, he asked Buckley why he had punched him.

Buckley tried to offer money as compensation, asking how much was enough, but the driver said he wanted to report the matter to the police. When he picked up his mobile phone to do so, Buckley snatched it and flung it some distance away.

A passer-by then came to Tan’s help and Buckley tried to walk away but Tan held onto his bag to stop him. Buckley eventually went home, saying he had to use the toilet. The woman who was with Buckley had also left. Police officers arrived soon after.

Tan, who sought medical treatment at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, suffered a chipped tooth, a nasal fracture and other injuries. He was given four days of medical leave. He later retrieved his mobile phone, which had cracked. Buckley has since reimbursed him for his medical bills totalling about S$190 (US$143).

DPP Tan sought eight months in jail, while Buckley’s lawyer Andre Jumabhoy from law firm Peter Low and Choo asked for six months instead. The lawyer told the court that Buckley came to Singapore in 2017 and was “quite successful” in the financial technology industry. He lost his job, however, and was unemployed when he committed the crimes.

Jumabhoy said his client was increasingly anxious about his future and was separated from his partner, who was in Macau then and could not return to Singapore because the borders were shut during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The lawyer said that when Buckley left the bar, he was stressed and experienced some breathing difficulties that caused him to panic slightly. “It started because he took the erroneous belief that the taxi driver threw his card.”

Buckley was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, but accepted that the condition did not have a contributory link to his offences. Jumabhoy said Buckley made no excuse for his acts and was grateful that Tan was not significantly hurt.

For causing grievous hurt, he could have been jailed up to 10 years and fined or caned. Buckley will leave Singapore once his sentence is finished.