Cabby smashes man's head with bottle after allegedly getting attacked with chair, both arrested

An elderly cabby smashed a stall assistant’s head with a beer bottle during a brawl which came a day after he was allegedly assaulted by the former with a chair. 

Both have since been arrested for the fight which took place at a coffee shop in Block 27, Bendemeer Road on Jan 19, 2018. 

The cabby, Yang Jing Fu, 70, had told Lianhe Wanbao that he was having his breakfast at the coffee shop on Oct 29, 2017, when he was stopped by a worker for consuming outside food. 

The cabby said that other than ordering a regular breakfast set from the coffee shop, he would also bring some fruits from outside to supplement his meal. 

He claimed that the coffee shop manager had given him permission to do so.

However, the worker in his 40s scolded him loudly and stopped him from eating. 

Yang said: "Another coffee shop assistant in his 50’s also came to help the worker and even held up a chair threatening to hit me. Luckily, he was stopped by someone."

Since the incident, Yang did not go back to the coffee shop until Jan 18, 2018.

When he visited the coffee shop last month, he saw the assistant who had wanted to hit him before. 

Yang revealed: "I confronted him and asked him, 'You and I have no grievances, so why did you make trouble for me?'

"He suddenly grabbed a chair and hit me, causing injury on my left hand and arm, as well as the fingers on my right hand. I was unable to drive after that and had to take a medical certificate (MC) for the next three days."

Reporters later visited the coffee shop to investigate, and found that Yang had not told the full story. 

According to a witness, Yang had returned the coffee shop on Jan 19 and used a beer bottle to hit the stall assistant’s head.

The witness revealed: "The cabby came the following day and saw the stall assistant. He didn’t even utter a word. He just grabbed a beer bottle and smashed the assistant’s head. 

"He even made a gesture, threatening to thrust the broken bottle at the assistant’s hand and abdomen. Fortunately, he was stopped by members of the public."