A 19-year-old man was sentenced to 3 months in prison, with suspension, by the Single-Member Criminal Court of Thessaloniki, for punching an OASTH driver, when he did not open the bus door to get off.

Testifying in court, the 60-year-old driver stated that the accused had not pressed the bell and since there was no passenger waiting at the stop to board, he continued his journey normally. The young man then headed for the driver’s seat, demanding, in a heated voice, to know why he didn’t stop.

“He asked me to get down so he could beat me. I put my hands up and told him “come hit me”. He managed to punch me a lot with his bare hand. He was hitting professionally,” said the driver, with the marks of the blows on his face visible. He himself, as he said, tried to push him away, pushing the young man towards the door, which he closed, and new blows against him followed.

Passengers of the bus stepped in the middle to calm the spirits, while the Immediate Action was notified who arrived and arrested the 19-year-old.

In his confession, the young student confessed his act and apologized. “I was scared when he closed the door. It was my fault. I didn’t do it by magic, it was stupid of me,” he said. He was found guilty of simple bodily harm with the post-adolescent mitigating factor. After the court’s verdict he was released, promising not to be involved in a similar incident again.