A 28-year-old Irish holidaymaker has been ordered to pay 20,000 euros and spend four months in prison by the courts in Lanzarote for assaulting a taxi driver in Puerto del Carmen after he refused to pay the fare for a journey.
After refusing to pay, the taxi driver got out of the car, opened the door, and beckoned the holidaymaker to get out of his cab, which is when he kicked and punched the driver causing him to fall backwards onto the road and hit his head hard on the kerb.
The report from the Guardia Civil states that the tourist gave off a "strong smell of alcohol", and that the taxi driver fractured several ribs, injured his leg and elbow, and suffered from concussion in the assault.
The Irishman was arrested and a trial was fast-tracked for him to attend before he was allowed to leave the island. After the evidence was heard, the man was convicted and ordered to pay 20,000 euros in compensation and costs before leaving Lanzarote to return home, where he will serve his jail time.
The Arrecife Taxi Cooperative said they are satisfied with this outcome, and the new ‘fast track’ trials that have been introduced for incidents involving tourists. “It is positive to see that people who get into a taxi drunk and don’t know where they are going, refuse to pay the driver and cause a conflict, or damage the vehicles, can be punished. Up to now, it has only been the drivers that have suffered and lost out”, they said.
