A UK man has been charged with assault after allegedly farting in an Uber and attacking the driver for protesting, Bristol Live reported.
The odiferous incident reportedly occurred last year when Kingswood’s James Mallett, 35, let it rip in the back of the ride while on the way to a local nightclub with three other people. This was the “final straw” for the Uber driver, named Aleksander Bonchev, who had allegedly suffered abuse at the hands of other passengers, according to court testimony.
Prosecutor James Scutt said Bonchev told Mallett “to leave the vehicle,” whereupon the flatulent fare offered to fight the driver and struck him in the head. Bonchev reportedly responded in defense by punching the Mallett in the face, knocking him to the ground.
Police encountered the unruly passenger a little while later sporting a “cut on his bottom lip,” according to Scutt, who added that he was “plainly intoxicated.” Fortunately the gass-enger admitted to assault occasioning actual harm on November 30, which landed him a six month-jail term, a $650 fine and 120 hours of community service. His jail sentence has since been suspended for 18 months.
Picking up drunk people can often be problematic, as the driver would doubtless attest if he was still in the country. However, he broke a finger during the altercation, which apparently rendered him unable to drive, so he lost his Uber job along with his apartment and his car, and has since returned home to Bulgaria.