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Young Driver Punches Elderly Taxi Uncle, Blinds Him

 




In a disturbing case of road rage and reckless driving, 26-year-old Marcus Loke Teck Soon left two elderly victims with life-altering injuries and is now facing sentencing.

On August 4, 2025, Loke pleaded guilty to two separate offences. The first was an unprovoked attack on a 68-year-old taxi driver. The second involved negligent driving that seriously injured a 74-year-old pedestrian. Both incidents highlighted Loke's blatant disregard for the safety and wellbeing of others, especially the elderly.

The first offence took place on August 12, 2022, shortly before 3pm along the Ayer Rajah Expressway. Loke was driving a van when the taxi driver overtook him. The minor road incident escalated as both vehicles exited towards Alexandra Road. The cabby stopped at a pedestrian crossing, but Loke, clearly enraged, stepped out of his vehicle to confront him.

Court documents revealed that Loke claimed to have seen the taxi driver flash an obscene gesture. He demanded that the older man step out of the taxi, but when the driver refused and attempted to leave, Loke punched him once in the right eye before fleeing the scene.

The consequences were severe. The cabby suffered a fractured eye socket and internal bleeding behind the eyeball. His injuries were so serious that he was hospitalised from August 12 to 16, 2022, and given 50 days of medical leave. His vision has since deteriorated to the point where he can only count fingers with the affected eye. The physical damage also forced him to retire from driving, rendering him jobless.

Prosecutor Samuel Chew stated that the victim’s quality of life has been deeply affected. He now attends regular ophthalmology appointments and must apply eye ointments and lubricants four times a day to manage his condition. While Loke did pay $566 in restitution to cover the cabby’s medical fees, the damage inflicted cannot be reversed.

In a separate incident, Loke was behind the wheel again, this time on February 22, 2023, at around 3:15pm, driving along Kim Seng Road. He was making a discretionary right turn into Havelock Road when he failed to notice a 74-year-old woman crossing the road lawfully with a green pedestrian signal.

The collision caused the woman to suffer a head injury and multiple fractures in her right leg. She was knocked unconscious and had to be rushed to Singapore General Hospital. Her recovery has been slow and painful, with doctors warning she is unlikely to regain full function of her leg and may require walking aids permanently. She was given a lengthy 162-day medical leave.

Although Loke stopped his car and called for an ambulance, the damage was already done. For this second offence, he pleaded guilty to one count of causing grievous hurt while failing to keep a proper lookout.

Loke will return to court for sentencing on August 28, 2025. He faces jail time for both the road rage assault and the careless driving incident.

These two back-to-back cases have stirred public concern over repeat offenders who endanger lives, particularly those of vulnerable elderly individuals. Both incidents serve as stark reminders of how a split-second lapse in judgment or a moment of rage can leave lifelong consequences, not just for the victims, but also for the offenders.


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