Fine for cabby who shone laser at bus near Changi Airport, blurring driver’s vision

SINGAPORE: A taxi driver shone a laser pointer towards a shuttle bus ferrying passengers between terminals at Changi Airport, blurring the bus driver’s vision.

Huzairi Hamzah, 51, was fined S$2,500 by a court on Monday (Jul 28) for one count of a rash act endangering the personal safety of others.

The court heard that the bus driver, a 32-year-old Singaporean man, was plying his route on Aug 28, 2024.

He was driving along Airport Boulevard at about 9.50pm that night with about 30 passengers on his bus.

He signalled his intention to filter into the extreme left lane of Airport Boulevard at about 9.55pm.

He saw a taxi, driven by the accused, along the extreme left lane, some distance behind the bus.

The bus driver changed lanes to the extreme left lane.

Huzairi then drove to the rear right side of the bus. As he followed the vehicle, Huzairi shone a laser pointer towards the right side of the bus for about two to three seconds.

Closed-circuit television footage captured Huzairi shining the laser light at the bus.

The laser beam struck the right mirror and reflected into the bus driver’s eyes, causing him to experience blurry vision.

As there were passengers on board the bus, the bus driver ignored Huzairi and continued driving towards Terminal 4.

Huzairi left the area, and the bus driver later told his supervisors what happened and was advised to lodge a police report. 

No injuries were sustained in the incident.

The prosecutor sought a fine of S$2,500, saying Huzairi had intentionally shone the light, knowing fully that there was a real risk that the laser beam may distract the victim.

Huzairi almost qualified his plea, with his lawyer saying Huzairi had never intended to point the laser to shine into the bus driver’s eye.

He also said that Huzairi’s position has always been that his action would not cause a risk to the driver.

However, he later accepted the statement of facts and pleaded guilty. 

For a rash act endangering personal safety, he could have been fined up to S$2,500, jailed for up to six months, or both.