Man fined for assaulting taxi driverA MAN has been fined for punching a taxi driver in the face in front of two police officers.
Stuart Coombes, 39, of Fenton Place, Porthcrawl, was outside Basildon police station when he committed the assault.
He and a friend had become involved in a row with the victim after leaving Katz Gentleman's Club in Time Square on March 29.
Mr Coombes' friend had argued with the driver about the fare and suggested he may not be able to pay.
The taxi driver called police and drove the pair to Basildon police station. He told them they would have to pay for the extra mileage to the station.
In a hearing at Basildon Magistrates Court on Thursday, April 18, prosecutor Sophie Ewulo told the court that officers were waiting for the trio outside the station when they arrived.
She claimed that once outside the car, Mr Coombes acted as though he was about to hand over the fare, but instead assaulted the driver.
She said: “Inexplicably, in the presence of the officers, the defendant punches the victim in the face. The defendant, despite doing this in front of a police officer, denied doing this, then said it was self-defence.”
The taxi driver did not sustain any injuries in the assault, which Mr Coombes pleaded guilty to in the hearing on Thursday.
District Judge John Woollard ordered Mr Coombes to pay a £350 fine, a £35 statutory surcharge, £50 compensation to the taxi driver and £85 towards prosecution costs, totalling £515.
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