The employer of the taxi driver who beat up an employee of a car rental company in Paros over a parking space has now fired him from his job, the employer said.

“As of today, he is no longer with my business,” he told cyclades24.gr regarding the case, which has now been referred to the courts.

As he told cyclades24.gr, “As the employer of this particular driver, but also as a member of the professional taxi industry, I want to unequivocally condemn the incident that took place in Paros and the violent behavior toward an elderly fellow citizen of ours.

This behavior represents neither my business nor the taxi driver industry, which unanimously condemns such incidents.

He had been working at my business for approximately three years and during our collaboration, he had not displayed any similarly serious behavior. However, everyone is solely responsible for their own actions and choices.”

Watch video of the incident:

He adds that “on behalf of the business, the prescribed procedures for terminating the employment relationship have already been initiated. As of today, he is no longer with my business following what he did. Unfortunately, the incident has caused significant damage to the reputation of both me personally and my business, as well as the taxi industry in Paros as a whole. It is unfair for the actions of one person to characterize an entire profession in which people work every day with responsibility, consistency and respect for passengers.

As far as I know, the case has now been referred to the courts, which are responsible for fully investigating the facts and assigning responsibility where appropriate.”

The incident

According to reports, the incident involving the beating of the employee occurred a few days ago at the taxi stand in Paros.

According to the same reports, the incident was sparked by the employee parking an ATV rented by the company in a space that taxi drivers consider to be reserved exclusively for their vehicles.

As seen in the video, the two men exchanged harsh insults until, at one point, the taxi driver charged at the employee, grabbed him by the neck and threw him onto the ATV. The footage also shows the employee striking the taxi driver with a helmet he was holding in his hands.

The fight ended after bystanders intervened and separated the two men, while it is not yet known whether a complaint was filed with the police.

People on the island who spoke to protothema.gr attributed the incident to the lack of police presence at the taxi stand, which would make it clear who is allowed to park vehicles and where.