A Pembroke man has been fined after he admitted attacking a bus driver while his infant son watched on.

Eamonn Gibbons, 36, committed the assault on Arelias James after the pair argued over his fare.

Gibbons boarded the bus at about 7.40am on August 13, near the Consulate General of the United States on Middle Road. The defendant paid for a Zone 3 ticket on the bus, which was headed along the number 3 route to Grotto Bay, and sat at the back of the vehicle with his two-year-old son.

The argument started when Mr James arrived at a stop on Harrington Sound Road, near the post office, and informed Gibbons that he had reached the end of Zone 3. The driver told the defendant from Berkeley Road that he would either need to exit the bus, or pay for another ticket to continue his journey.

Gibbons replied that Mr James should continue his route to Grotto Bay, and that he would pay the remainder of the fare upon arrival.

The situation escalated between the two men, with Mr James refusing to move the bus, resulting in Gibbons punching the driver on the right cheek and twice in the back of the head.

About ten passengers witnessed the incident and several shouted at him to stop. One passenger also took photographs of the defendant, who exited the bus with his son after the assault.

Yesterday morning in Magistrates’ Court, Gibbons apologised to Mr James for the incident, but insisted that he had been provoked into his violent behaviour.

“I feel he was almost kind of picking on me,” said the unemployed defendant, who has previous convictions.

Gibbons added that he was on financial assistance and disability benefits — further attributing his conduct to his epilepsy medication, claiming that it had caused his temper to quicken.

Senior magistrate Juan Wolffe told the defendant: “Your son will have seen all this, and now you’re in court facing another criminal offence. That’s not good for your son. You need to learn how to control your anger.”

Mr Wolffe ordered Gibbons to pay a $1,000 by November 30 or face 90 days in prison in default.

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