POLICE have charged a 19-year-old with recklessly causing injury and criminal damage for an assault on a Swan Hill taxi driver.
At 2am Sunday on the Queen’s Birthday long weekend (June 10) the Moama resident was travelling in a ‘maxi taxi’ with another man, heading from Swan Hill to Murray Downs.
Police said there was a disagreement about payment in transit, and the taxi was stopped near the intersection of Campbell and Rutherford streets.
“The cab left a private address in Swan Hill and was requested to take the males to a location in Murray Downs,” Detective Senior Constable Mal Simpson said.
“They had a disagreement over payment, and stopped… near Aldi,” Det Sen Constable Simpson said.
Police said the man then punched the driver’s side window in, smashing the glass and giving the driver facial injuries.
Cuts on one side of the driver’s head required sutures and glass had to be removed from one eye.
Police said they were yet to speak to the accused’s fellow passenger, but were satisfied he took no part in the assault.
The man will face the Swan Hill Magistrates’ Court on October 17.
Victoria Police spokespeople have encouraged “an improved safety culture” around the taxi industry in recent months, following a spate of taxi-related crime in the state’s capital.
