- By Abhishek Sheoran
- Mon, 25 Sep 2023 10:39 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
A probe has been initiated against a cab driver who racially abused a woman and her daughter on Saturday assuming they were Indian, reported The Strait Times. Janelle Hoeden, 46, booked a ride from her house her sister-in-law’s house at around 2 pm. She took the cab with her nine-year-old daughter and was heading to Pasir Ris when the driver got upset as part of the road was blocked due to some construction activity. It was only then that the driver lost his cool and started shouting at Hoeden. He said he was given the wrong address and wrong directions to the destination.
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“He said, ‘You are Indian, you are stupid’,” The Strait Times quoted Hoeden as saying. As the furore escalated, Hoeden took out her phone and started recording the interaction.
In a video shared across several social media platforms, the cab driver, a Chinese man, was seen saying that Hoeden’s daughter was less than 1.35m tall. He then calls the girl “very illegal”.
The Singapore Transport Authority has mentioned on its website that all vehicles in the country were required to have booster seats or child restraints for passengers under 1.35m in height. Hoeden told The Strait Times that he mentioned her daughter’s height because he wanted to make his case strong alleging that I was riding illegally.
The spat turned worse and the drivers continued shouting at her. “You are India(n), I’m a Chinese... You are the very worst kind...” he said, told the woman to The Strait Times.
Hoeden also asked her daughter to record the heated exchange fearing that the cab driver could get physical. “As he was verbally abusive, I was afraid that he would start getting physical with me, so I told her to record,” the Singapore broadsheet quoted Hoeden as saying. She told her daughter was also shaken after witnessing his unruly conduct.
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Tada Singapore took cognisance of the incident and said the matter was being probed. “At Tada, we do not tolerate racism, discrimination, or abuse. Our team is investigating this issue. Thanks to everyone who brought this to our attention,” the comment said.
