An American man has been ordered to make compensations of USD3,000 for injuring a woman during a dispute with a taxi driver in Danang.
Mr. Gray violent behaviour recorded in a clip
Dennis Gray, a 68-year-old man, called a taxi on August 27, apparently after drinking. The cab was driven by Nguyen Quy of Hai Chau District.
On the way to the man's apartment, he became angry because he thought the fare too high, so he tore off the taxi badge and assaulted the driver. He then left the taxi without paying.
When the driver chased him to ask for the fare, he attempted to punch the driver in the face. He missed and hit a woman standing nearby.
A young man who witnessed the incident then accosted Gray and beat him using a tyre iron.
According to local police, Gray refused to cooperate many times before being forced to come to the police station, where he confessed to the assault.
He said that he had been sure the fee was too high because he had taken a four-seat taxi earlier which was cheaper. The second taxi had seven seats, and the fare totaled VND42,000.
Police filed a report saying that Gray caused the injuries by accident because there was not enough evidence for criminal prosecution. After some negotiation, Gray agreed to pay the woman USD3,000 as well as the cab fare.