Indian driver in Oz stabbed, 'feared he would die'

Melbourne, Dec 8: Indian born taxi driver, Jalvinder Singh who was repeatedly stabbed by a passenger, has told a Melbourne court that he believed he was going to die.

Part-time driver Singh spent nearly a week in an induced coma after the April attack in Melbourne, which sparked protests by cabbies and forced the Victorian government to improve safety measures, The Age reported.

The Melbourne Magistrates Court has been told that the accused, Parish Charles, 46, was paranoid and behaving irrationally after he stopped taking his HIV medication two weeks before the attack.

Charles is facing charges of attempted murder, intentionally causing serious injury, recklessly causing injury, and theft, the paper said.

Singh said he was shocked when Charles lunged at him with a knife on April 29 as he waited to be paid, according to his statement tendered to the court.

"I was in shock and panicking, I thought I was going to die. I could feel sharp pain in my stomach and chest. I managed to undo my seat belt and open the door and I managed to break free and get out of the taxi. I think he took the taxi and got away," Singh said.

Singh said the attack, in inner-city Clifton Hill, was over in seconds and he did not have time to activate the taxi's emergency button, The Age reported.

During a committal hearing on Monday, witnesses said Charles had been acting strangely in the fortnight before the attack.

The court was told that Singh was still undergoing medical treatment, counselling and physiotherapy, and the student was unsure if he would return to taxi driving.

ANI