First, there was the infamous bus uncle video which brought us closer to Hong Kong (see full story). Now, there’s a pretty violent clip (NSFW) showing an Indian passenger verbally and physically assaulting a Malay bus driver… right in Singapore!
According to Brennan (who uploaded the video captured by a friend), the clip shows an Indian man accusing the Malay bus driver of something (apparently a racial slur) when he actually had no money to pay for the bus fare. After threatening to call the police, the Indian man then proceeds hurl more vulgarities and to punch in the direction of the Malay bus driver, where I believe he was just hitting the wall out of frustration.
A few thoughts about this:
- Racial tension in Singapore is uncommon, but it isn’t non-existent. Still, this incident is really an exceptional case.
- Camera phones rule. It’s a discreet form of surveillance every citizen should possess.
- We still don’t know the full story… why didn’t several passengers step in to help mediate the situation? Did I hear the bus driver still insulting his attacker?
I just hope Singaporeans treat this as an isolated case and nothing more.
Aside: What is it with public transportation and abusive psychos? They seem to have an affinity for one another.
