Taxi driver ‘attacked passenger for burping in his car’
A taxi driver has been arrested in a Costa holiday resort after allegedly attacking an Irish tourist for burping in his cab.
The 65-year-old victim was rushed to the hospital with serious head and face wounds after he was ‘punched to the ground’ in the alleged assault in Fuengirola, Costa del Sol.
He was taken to a health centre in Las Lagunas before being transferred to the hospital in Marbella.
The 51-year-old cab driver is said to have ordered the unnamed holidaymaker out of his taxi for burping inside the vehicle.
The Irish tourist reportedly hit his head on the curb after being knocked to the ground when the driver punched him in the street once he and a friend he was with left the cab.
The second holidaymaker was unharmed in the incident, which happened near a hotel on the seafront promenade.
It was not immediately clear this morning if the assault victim, said to have been under the influence of alcohol, remained in hospital and what his current condition is.
The arrest was made at the scene by officers from a National Police rapid response unit who were mobilised along with paramedics, thought to have been alerted by concerned witnesses.
The taxi driver, held on suspicion of a crime of wounding, has not been named.
He is thought to have been released on bail over the incident after appearing before an investigating judge, while the criminal probe initiated following his arrest continues.
In November last year, police arrested another driver in Fuengirola after he allegedly dragged a tourist along the road who was trying to stop hfrom im driving off with his suitcase following an argument over the fare.
The holidaymaker, whose nationality was not disclosed at the time, was taken to the same hospital as the Irish assault victim.
The victim suffered head injuries when the driver accelerated, and he fell to the ground as he lost his grip on a door handle he was holding onto.
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