A man has been jailed after robbing a minicab driver in Thornton Heath and playing a part in a separate attack on a man in Greenford.
Police said Sapha Singh, 32, of Tremaine Road, Anerley, called a minicab firm ordering a fare to collect him from an address in Fountain Road, Thornton Heath, and take him to an address in Wandsworth Road at around 12.05am on July 13 last year.
When the minicab driver arrived, Singh and a woman got in the vehicle demanding to be taken to two addresses and throwing a £20 note at the driver, officers added.
When he was told the fare would be more, Singh got out, opened the driver's door and took the ignition key from the car, saying: "Give me the money".
The 42-year-old victim handed over £60, a Met spokesman said. Singh then smashed a whiskey bottle on the car and stabbed the victim twice in the arm with it.
Singh and the woman then ran off and caught a bus.
Singh was traced through mobile phone records he used to call the minicab company and CCTV capturing him in the area. He was arrested on July 14 last year.
He also pleaded guilty to his part in a violent robbery committed at 5pm on June 22, in Wadham Gardens, Greenford, in which a 35-year-old man was attacked and robbed by Singh and his brother, police told getwestlondon.
The victim was punched to the ground and kicked before the keys of his van were stolen, a force spokesman added. Both suspects were detained after a short chase by police officers who were in the vicinity at the time.
Singh was jailed at Harrow Crown Court on Wednesday (July 15) after having been found guilty of robbery at the Old Bailey on July 8.
He also pleaded guilty to the second robbery on July 10 and was sentenced for this at the same hearing on Wednesday.
Singh was sentenced to three years and six months imprisonment for each offence, to be served consecutively - a total of seven years.
Singh's brother, Carlton Singh, 28, of Fishponds Road, Tooting, was jailed for three years and four months after pleading guilty to robbery.
DC Eric Somerville, from Croydon Police's CID, said: "Sapha Singh acted in a violent and aggressive manner to a man just doing his job.
"Police will always seek to identify and put violent offenders such as Singh before the courts so that they can face justice.
"I would like to pass on my thanks to the victim who attended court to give evidence, as without the support of victims and witnesses, the police's job becomes much more difficult."
