Trial in Feldkirch

Pair of brothers attacked cab driver

Judge Tagwercher sentenced the two defendants.(Bild: Chantal Dorn, Krone KREATIV)

A trip to Dornbirn ended in bloodshed for a 42-year-old taxi driver. The perpetrators, two unemployed Romanians, had to answer for their actions on Thursday at Feldkirch Regional Court (Vorarlberg).

 

What exactly happened in the late evening of November 15 last year during and after that cab ride could not be clarified during the trial. The testimonies of the witnesses are too different - the defendants anyway. "The fact is that there was a cab ride from Dornbirn to Lochau and back. There was also an incident there," said judge Sabrina Tagwercher.

While the 26-year-old second defendant admits to having slapped the taxi driver in the face due to insults, the 42-year-old taxi driver claims to have been punched in the face by the man, who was drunk at the time. "I then fled, but was caught up again by the attackers and knocked down." He received at least 20 blows. The younger of the two also threatened him with a knife. A cab colleague then rushed to his aid. However, his statements consist more of speculation about what happened.

The only substrate is his statement that he was informed about the strange passengers by the 42-year-old taxi driver via WhatsApp. "I then drove to my colleague's destination. My colleague just got out of the car and said he had been beaten and injured. He told me to alert the police." Due to the victim's minor injuries, the judge had doubts about his version of events. The Frau Rat sentences the 26-year-old Romanian, who has a criminal record, to six months' imprisonment for assault. The 17-year-old brother is acquitted.