Fine for cabbie hit

A TAXI passenger punched the cabbie in front of police after he stopped to ask for help.

Michael John Ryan was drunk when he got into the taxi on April 13 and made the worker feel unsafe through extensive questioning, Southport Magistrates Court has heard.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Doug Bettany said this included inquiring into the driver’s nationality.

The driver pulled over next to police in Surfers Paradise and asked Ryan to get out. Ryan then punched the cabbie twice through the window. He was immediately arrested.

Ryan pleaded guilty yesterday to public nuisance and walked from court with a $400 fine. He was not charged with a more serious offence because the taxi driver did not make an official complaint.

Ryan told Magistrate Ron Kilner he “can’t really remember” the altercation because he “had too much to drink that day”. Mr Kilner told him offences on workers providing a service to the public were “far too prevalent”.