Bus assault appeal rejected

An appeal filed by a man jailed for punching a bus driver on the head was rejected by Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court on Thursday.

The man, Chen, was jailed for 18 months on June 27. The court heard he had argued with the driver over ticket payment when he boarded the bus with his daughter after a class reunion on March 3. 

Chen's daughter and other passengers attempted to intervene but Chen punched him on the head when the bus was near Yunguang Road in Hongkou District. The driver, Wu, felt dizzy, stopped the bus and called the police. 

Wu suffered bruises to his head and face.

Chen, who confessed to police during questioning, was charged with endangering public security by prosecutors in Hongkou on June 10. Chen's family later paid Wu compensation. 

Chen wasn't happy at the sentence as he said the driver had insulted him and that's why he hit out. He also said it was only one punch and he had stopped before the situation got worse. There had been no harm to anyone else, he said, and he felt the sentence was excessive

However, prosecutors said Chen's attack could easily have caused an accident, putting people's lives in danger. There was no evidence that Wu had insulted him and his confession, and the compensation, had already brought him a lenient sentence.