Told to get out of a Hobart taxi after his girlfriend vomited, Alexander James Shepherd turned on the driver, dragging him from the car and launching a violent attack.
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The flurry of punches and kicks to the head, some inflicted by his girlfriend, caused the cabbie to lose consciousness at times during the assault.
Shepherd, 27, avoided jail when sentenced by the Supreme Court of Tasmania last week, instead receiving a 10-month suspended sentence for the May 19 attack.
On their way home from a night out, Shepherd and his girlfriend caught a taxi but the driver decided to terminate the trip, asking the pair to get out after the woman vomited through the taxi window while stopped at a fast food outlet.
The driver briefly lost consciousness during the beating.
Justice Michael Brett described Shepherd's actions as a "brutal attack" on a man who was vulnerable because of his occupation.
But he noted that the driver's loss of consciousness was caused by the woman's kicks to his head and not the punches from Shepherd.
"In my view, he did absolutely nothing to provoke or cause you to act in the way you did," Judge Brett said in sentencing.
"I accept your plea of guilty is evidence of remorse. I also think that is unlikely you will commit a crime such as this again."
The driver sustained minor injuries to the face but told the court the attack had a significant psychological impact.
Shepherd was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment, wholly suspended for 18 months.
He is also expected to perform 168 hours of community service.
Australian Associated Press