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Taxi driver cleared of assault in 'can of Coke row'
A TAXI driver who stabbed a colleague with a screwdriver after a row over a can of Coke has been cleared of assault.
The spat broke out in December last year at Viceroy Cars, Epsom, after Farid Cheheb put down his drink and fellow cabbie Abdelila Hamdi used it as an ashtray to stub out his cigarette.
Guildford Crown Court heard that a third driver then told Mr Hamdi that Cheheb was planning to scratch his car in revenge, and the pair got into a fight ending with the defendant plunging the tool into his colleague’s arm.
Cheheb, of Drummond Gardens, Epsom, claimed he was acting in self-defence and walked free from court after being unanimously cleared of assault causing actual bodily harm.
The court head that on March 20 this year, Mr Hamdi was told by another driver, Ben Achille, that Cheheb was going to scratch his car.
Four days later they were both working together and Mr Hamdi challenged Cheheb who "immediately became aggressive" and pulled out the weapon, prosecutor Wendy Cottee said.
Mr Hamdi told the court that they were arguing and he was punched in the face before his co-worker reached into his pocket, at which point he raised his hands to protect himself.
He said: "He just went for me. I thought he had a knife. I felt sharp stabs and I pushed him away, when he saw the blood he ran."
The Moroccan driver was left with five puncture wounds along his arm.
Cheheb, who was arrested near the scene, accepted that he caused the injuries but said it was only after his colleague had grabbed him by the neck.
He told the jury that it was Mr Hamdi who flew off the handle after falling for the lie of Mr Achille who was always trying to "stir things up".
He said: "Mr Achille was just a troublemaker and we were not talking.
"I said to him [Mr Hamdi], 'You should not believe him [Mr Achille], you know what he is like'.
"We went into the office and he said ‘If you want a fight, let's go outside’. I said ‘Don’t be childish, let's talk'."
Cheheb then claimed Mr Hamdi grabbed him by the neck, pushing him up against the wall.
He said: "I was choking. I said ‘Take your hand off me’ and then I said it a second time and he told me he was going to kill me."
Cheheb said he then reached into his pocket for his car keys but found a screwdriver he had been using to fix his daughter’s toy and stabbed it into Mr Hamdi's arm to free himself.
He said: "I tried to save my life."
Cheheb pleased guilty to possessing an offensive weapon after police found an extendable metal baton near his car when he was arrested. He was conditionally discharged for two years.
George Zachary, defending, said: "There had been an incident in the past with a customer and he had it [the baton] with him in the car for self protection.
"He has already suffered considerably because of this, he lost his job and his taxi licence and has been struggling to find work. He is currently working part time as a pizza delivery man."
Judge Christopher Critchlow said: "Sometimes taxi drivers get attacked in the course of their duty but the law didn’t permit you to carry that baton.
"As a result of the earlier incident you have suffered considerably in a financial and personal way because of the shame of losing your licence.
"There has been considerable punishment inflicted upon you already."
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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin
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