Attack frightens cabbie

Press, 4 March 1989, Page 9

Attack frightens cabbie

This is the face of a frightened taxi-driver. He was viciously bashed by two passengers and robbed of $l2O in Papanui early on Friday. He suffered bruising and will be off the job until early next week.

The driver’s name is Kevin and he works for Blue Star, but he refuses to have his surname printed out of fear the assailants will intimidate his family. “I'm not in the phone

book. There’s only two listed with my surname and they’re my parents and brother. They live in the same area where it happened,” said Kevin, aged 27. “I can’t risk anyone ringing them up. I have to protect my family. If I give my name out it could provoke other

situations.” Kevin was attacked in Morrison Avenue by two leather-clad Maori men whom he had picked up from the Papanui stand about 12.25 a.m. They asked to go to Redwood, but he knew something was amiss when they changed the destination. “I had a feeling about them even when I picked them up. I made a bit of small talk — I asked if they’d had a quiet night. They were non-committal. When they changed destination I knew straight away something was up. “When we got to Morrison Ave I said ‘what number?’ They said ‘pull over.’ Then one of them said ‘Now.’ The guy in the back grabbed me and the one in the front punched me. “They kept on punching and I’d made up my mind I wasn’t going to give them the money.” Kevin took a barrage of punches before he decided to give in.

“It seemed like they punched me forever. I took some heavy blows. Then I said, ‘O.K. that’s enough, I’ll give it to you.’ “I got sick of being punched in the head.” He handed over the wallet but they did not leave straight away, in-

sisting on more money. After realising there was no more they left, just before six other taxis and the police arrived. An alarm in the taxi had been activated soon after the attack. Kevin said cabbies constantly bore the

brunt of abuse by the public, but this was the first time he had been assaulted in 4>/ 2 years of driving. “I like to think I can handle myself. I didn’t throw any punches — it’s fairly difficult when you’re being held,” he said.