Taximan arrested for alleged assault

An argument over payment due to him on Sunday night apparently led to a Windhoek taxi driver beating up a female customer and spending the night in jail.

The man, who may only be identified once he appears in court on assault charges today, is said to have carried out the attack on his 32-year old victim in front of her three-year old daughter, and also a host of people leaving and entering the Spar Beukes shopping centre in Khomasdal that night. According to his victim, who requested anonymity, she boarded his taxi in town and asked to be taken to Katutura’s Soweto area.She however made a request that he stop at the Khomasdal shop mid-way, and they agreed that she would pay double for her transporter’s effort.When the woman left the shop however, she noticed that the taxi driver had got out of the vehicle and was walking her way.”He demanded I give him the money I owe him, so I went into my pockets and took out some money,” she said.At that point she had two notes – a 100 dollar bill and another N$20.”I quickly exchanged the N$20 for change with an airtime vendor who was standing nearby, and I handed him (taxi driver) the seven dollars I owed him for the trip so-far,” she recalled.The taxi driver however grabbed the N$100 bill from her hand and rushed to his car, she said, and she followed him to try and get her money back.”Then I just saw him reach into his car like he was pulling out a weapon, and then I felt him hit me in my face,” she said.”I don’t know if it was with his hand or with a weapon,” she said of the blow, which apparently caused her to fall and land on her face.”When I fell, he grabbed me by my hair and hit my face in the ground,” she recalled.The suspect then apparently got back in his car and tried to race off, but the woman apparently managed to get up and reach into the car, pulling out the keys.”When I did that he got out of the car again, and started twisting my arm to get it,” she said.The suspect was arrested by members of the private company G4S Security and taken to the Katutura Police Station.The attack left the victim with a torn ear from an earring that she lost during the scuffle, as well as a host of other injuries to her arm, throat and head.According to his victim, who requested anonymity, she boarded his taxi in town and asked to be taken to Katutura’s Soweto area.She however made a request that he stop at the Khomasdal shop mid-way, and they agreed that she would pay double for her transporter’s effort.When the woman left the shop however, she noticed that the taxi driver had got out of the vehicle and was walking her way.”He demanded I give him the money I owe him, so I went into my pockets and took out some money,” she said.At that point she had two notes – a 100 dollar bill and another N$20.”I quickly exchanged the N$20 for change with an airtime vendor who was standing nearby, and I handed him (taxi driver) the seven dollars I owed him for the trip so-far,” she recalled.The taxi driver however grabbed the N$100 bill from her hand and rushed to his car, she said, and she followed him to try and get her money back.”Then I just saw him reach into his car like he was pulling out a weapon, and then I felt him hit me in my face,” she said.”I don’t know if it was with his hand or with a weapon,” she said of the blow, which apparently caused her to fall and land on her face.”When I fell, he grabbed me by my hair and hit my face in the ground,” she recalled.The suspect then apparently got back in his car and tried to race off, but the woman apparently managed to get up and reach into the car, pulling out the keys.”When I did that he got out of the car again, and started twisting my arm to get it,” she said.The suspect was arrested by members of the private company G4S Security and taken to the Katutura Police Station.The attack left the victim with a torn ear from an earring that she lost during the scuffle, as well as a host of other injuries to her arm, throat and head.