By Fiona Liaw, newsroom intern

The explosion of violence from the cabby came suddenly.

And when it was over, rojak seller Choo Zin Chye, 49, was left bleeding with a broken cheekbone.

The incident occurred at about 9.30am on 9 Jul, along Woodlands Street 31.

Mr Choo had been at Woodlands buying ingredients for his rojak stall in Geylang.

He was driving along a two-way road, with cars parked along both sides.

This made it difficult for more than one vehicle to pass through from either direction.

Mr Choo had been waiting in line behind a taxi, trying to exit from the road. Both their vehicles were straddling the centre white line.

It was then that a delivery truck turned into the road, coming face to face with the taxi.

Mr Choo claimed that there was sufficient space on the left for the taxi driver to move.

The truck driver stopped his vehicle and waited.

However, the taxi driver, described as a bald man in his 30s, persisted in moving forwards - as if trying to force the truck to reverse.

SOUNDED HORN

Pressed for time as he was late for work, Mr Choo claimed to have sounded his horn at the taxi driver, waving his hands to indicate that the taxi could squeeze past the truck.

He claimed that the taxi driver ignored this, and after waiting a while, got out of his vehicle and started scolding the truck driver.

Mr Choo said the taxi driver was gesticulating wildly, as if telling the truck driver to get out of his way.

Mr Choo claimed that he could not understand what the taxi driver had said, but in a few minutes, the truck driver reversed his vehicle and moved it to their side of the lane, ahead of them, to allow the taxi to pass.

However, this did not appease the taxi driver.

He drove his taxi past the truck towards the road exit, then got out and marched over to Mr Choo's car to confront him.

Mr Choo claimed the driver was waving his hands madly and yelling at the top of his lungs in English.

Although Mr Choo did not understand what the taxi driver said, he believed that the taxi driver was unhappy with him for sounding the horn and making hand gestures.

Mr Choo told The New Paper: 'Maybe he thought I was being rude to him, but I didn't expect he would turn barbaric.'

Not sensing any danger, he stayed calm and wound down the window to reason with the taxi driver.

Mr Choo said: 'I was trying to explain that he could have (moved out), but he exploded.'

Mr Choo claimed that it was then that, in a fit of rage, the taxi driver allegedly punched him in the face, hitting his nose and mouth.

Blood began to spurt out immediately.

But the driver did not stop there.

He allegedly rained punches on the back of Mr Choo's skull. Mr Choo estimated that he must have been hit over 15 times.

Mr Choo said: 'I felt like a punching bag he was boxing - everything was blur and it was so painful I could not see or think straight.'

Mr Choo tried to call the police with his handphone.

In his desperation to escape the attack, Mr Choo tried to force his car door open to push his assailant away, but could not.

It was only with great difficulty that he managed to wind up his window, as he struggled to hold on to his handphone and shield his head at the same time.

As the window went up, he saw the taxi driver's hand retract. The taxi driver then went back to the cab.

Afraid that he was going to drive away, Mr Choo sped up and managed to reach the exit before the taxi.

He used his car to barricade the exit, preventing the taxi driver from leaving.

Annoyed that he was trapped, Mr Choo claimed that the taxi driver revved his engine threateningly, as if he was going to smash into Mr Choo's car.

'At that point I was too dazed to be scared,' Mr Choo said. 'All I could think to do was call the police and ambulance.

'He treated me worse than an animal. I can forgive him if it was one or two blows in a fit of rage, but he hit me so many times!'

By then, Mr Choo also managed to call his son, Mr Andy Zhu, 26, who arrived at around the same time as the police and the ambulance.

The police confirmed that they received a call at 9.25am involving a fight between a taxi driver and another car driver.

Mr Zhu said: 'My father looked weak and giddy, but the driver did not seem to think he had done anything wrong.

'Instead, he kept asking loudly, 'Why can't I do that'?'

Mr Choo also claimed to have heard that the driver had admitted to punching him only once.

Mr Choo said indignantly: 'If it was just once, I don't believe that I could have been hurt so badly.'

Mr Zhu called the taxi company to lodge a complaint against the driver, while his father was taken to National University Hospital for treatment.

An X-ray indicated that his right cheekbone was fractured.

Mr Choo was given five days' medical leave, and was told to return today for a follow-up.

A spokesman from the taxi company told Shin Min Daily News that it takes a serious view of misconduct by its drivers and does not condone acts of violence.

It has investigated the matter and found that the driver had acted wrongly, so it has terminated his contract. The driver had joined the company about a month ago.

The taxi company has also apologised to Mr Choo through his son.

Mr Zhu confirmed this to The New Paper.

The police said that investigations are ongoing.

This article was first published in The New Paper on July 15th 2008.