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Upset that his coffee order had spilled out, a Singaporean man took it out on the Grab rider, hurling profanities and tapping the latter's cheek with a 20cm knife several times.
Mohammed Firdaus Bin Mohd Rafi, 32, was sentenced to eight weeks' jail on Jun. 14, 2023, after pleading guilty to a criminal intimidation charge.
Another charge of using abusive words to cause the rider's distress was considered for sentencing.
Upset by spilled coffee order
According to court documents, Mohammed Firdaus Bin Mohd Rafi ordered food and a packet of coffee from Grab at around midnight on Aug. 8, 2022.
A 28-year-old rider delivered the food to his HDB flat and left.
Firdaus called the rider shortly after, at around 1:15am, accusing him of trying to “cheat his money” by spilling his coffee and leaving.
He swore at the rider, saying things like "motherf**ker" during the phone call.
Rider offered to compensate
Firdaus demanded the rider return to his house immediately and threatened to find him to beat him up if he did not.
The rider offered to buy Firdaus a coffee to compensate him, but Firdaus cut off the line.
Following this, the rider returned to Firdaus' flat with two different types of coffee as he was unsure what Firdaus ordered.
When Firdaus saw the rider arrive, he asked him to wait outside the door before heading into his kitchen.
Tapped knife against rider's cheek
Firdaus retrieved a 20cm-long knife before returning to the rider and shouting at him.
He then tapped the knife against the rider's cheek several times.
The rider, shocked and frightened, repeatedly apologised.
Firdaus eventually told the rider to "f**k off" and threw both packs of coffee onto the floor.
The rider escaped and called the police at about 2:30am.
Firdaus' brother happened to film the encounter, and the prosecution tendered the 72-second video as evidence.
Sentenced to two months' jail
The prosecution sought a one to two months jail sentence and highlighted that it is necessary to send Firdaus to jail to deter others from committing the same offences.
He pointed out that the presence of the knife made the threat more menacing, and showed that Firdaus had the very intent to cause alarm to the rider.
According to Lianhe Zaobao, Firdaus pleaded for leniency and admitted that he should not have threatened the rider with the knife and regretted his actions.
Newlywed wife cried
Zaobao reported that Firdaus' wife cried in court when she heard that Firdaus was sentenced to jail.
The couple just got married last week.
The judge approved Firdaus' request to start serving his sentence on Jul. 24, 2023.
Top image from Canva