A cab driver in Singapore has been fined SG$3,000 for hurling racist insults at a passenger in September, following an argument over the drop-off location.
In a video filmed by the passenger and posted on social media, driver Peh Boon Hua (54) is heard shouting: “You are India(n), I’m a Chinese… You are the very worst kind.”
Hua pleaded guilty last week to one count of using insulting words causing distress under the Protection from Harassment Act, The Straits Times newspaper reported.
According to court documents, the 46-year-old passenger of Eurasian descent was travelling in a Tada cab with her nine-year-old daughter to Pasir Ris Drive 6 at around 2 p.m. on September 23.
An argument about the drop-off location ensued between Hua and the victim, before he made a U-turn and drove towards Pasir Ris Street 12.
As the victim started recording the argument on her phone, Hua got angry, and shouted: “You are India, India ah, I am Chinese okay, you are India, I am a Chinese, you are the very worst… worst… worst customer.”
The passenger informed him that she was, in fact, Singaporean Eurasian and not Indian. She also told him he was being racist.
Hua then raised his voice and replied: “I know you India. I am Chinese, you try to be funny with me.”
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sheldon Lim said, “The overtly racial nature of the accused’s insults is unacceptable and cannot be disregarded.”
“There is no place for such language or sentiment in Singapore, and any sentence imposed on the accused must sufficiently deter him and others from repeating this mistake in the future.”
Lim noted that Hua had no prior criminal record and had demonstrated remorse by pleading guilty early, the news report said.
In addition, Tada, Hua’s cab company, also suspended him in the wake of the videos circulating on social media.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, Tada said Hua is permanently barred from working with the company as a driver.
“The driver’s remarks that insinuated racial differences are completely unacceptable within Tada’s community guidelines and ethos,” the company said.
(The story has been published via a syndicated feed with a modified headline.)
