Taxi driver jailed for cutting cops

A strung-out taxi driver has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for cutting two police officers with a knife while under the influence of methamphetamine, Jing'an District People's Court said Friday.

The defendant, whom the court called Wu Ming, was charged with disrupting public service with violence, according to a court press release.

Wu later said in court that he began using the drug, an illegal stimulant, at the beginning of the year to help him relieve stress and stay awake behind the wheel.

He went to the police station in the Caojiadu residential community in Jing'an district on May 15 in search of help. He had been suffering from paranoia after taking methamphetamine the day before while driving his taxi in Pudong New Area.

He said he had hallucinations that night. The next day, he couldn't escape a feeling of paranoia. It was bad enough that he took a knife with him to work.

Because many people were already waiting at the police station, Wu didn't stay long. But his appearance was suspicious enough that officers followed him back to his car.

This spooked Wu, who began waving his knife at them. The officers suffered minor cuts before they were able to restrain him.

A test later determined that Wu was under the influence of drugs.