18-year-old arrested over taxi robbery

Police have arrested an 18-year-old man on suspicion of assaulting and robbing a taxi driver in a Chisinau’s suburban location on the night to August 7, Info-Prim Neo reports. The victim is a 47-year-old man, taxi driver for the service 1407, who offered to take the youngster to a suburban village called Siret. The young man told the driver he had no money to pay for the drive but promised he would get it from a friend as soon as they reached the destination; and the driver accepted. Approaching the village, the suspect told the driver to pull over. Then he pulled out a shoe lace in a bid to strangle the driver. Struggling with the assaulter, the taxi driver managed to escape and fled the car. The assaulter then tried to steal the taxi, but the engine wouldn’t start. Determined not to leave empty-handed, the man took 800 lei and ran away. The police identified the assaulter and arrested him a couple of hours later. The suspect confessed to the robbery, saying his only intention was to get a free drive. It is said that the man was tried earlier for similar offenses. If the court finds him guilty, the young man could serve up to 15 years in prison.