In a recent incident in Singapore, a 32-year-old man was sentenced to eight weeks in jail for threatening a delivery rider with a knife, according to Lianhe Zaobao.
The altercation began when the man received a coffee order that had spilled. Instead of handling the situation calmly, he resorted to violence, holding a 20cm knife against the rider’s face and patting his cheek with the knife multiple times.
The man, identified as Firdaus, pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal intimidation. Additionally, the court took into account another charge of using insulting words to cause distress to the victim.
What happened?
The incident occurred on 8th August 2022 at 1:45 am in Block 858 Jurong West Street 81. Firdaus had ordered food and coffee through a delivery application.
When the rider arrived at his unit and left the order at the door, Firdaus called him back. He questioned why his coffee had spilled and accused the rider of attempting to deceive him.
Frustrated, Firdaus threatened the rider, using offensive language and asserting that he would physically harm him.
To pacify the dissatisfied customer, the rider went the extra mile and purchased two additional packets of coffee for Firdaus.
However, upon returning to Firdaus’ unit, the situation escalated further. Firdaus brandished a 20cm knife from the kitchen and continued to berate the rider, even patting the rider’s cheek with the knife.
In a fit of anger, he threw the two packets of coffee onto the ground. Despite the rider’s repeated apologies, Firdaus remained hostile.
The rider, understanding the severity of the situation, lodged a police report after the incident. Firdaus’ actions were captured on tape by his own family, resulting in a one-minute and twelve seconds clip that served as crucial evidence during the court proceedings.
The motive behind Firdaus’ family recording the incident remains unclear.
Hoped for lenient sentence
During the court hearing, the prosecution sought a jail term of one to two months for Firdaus, emphasizing the need to deter similar mistreatment of delivery riders. Surprisingly, Firdaus opted to represent himself in court and pleaded guilty.
Expressing remorse for his actions, he acknowledged that threatening the rider with a knife was unjustifiable and hoped for a lenient sentence.
In delivering the verdict, the judge stated that Firdaus had overreacted and displayed unacceptable behavior. The judge considered the eight-week jail sentence reasonable and conservative enough.