A 41-year-old Singaporean man was jailed a week for breaking a SBS Transit bus door.
According to his lawyers, the man, Chua, was in the bus when he felt he needed to pee badly. Out of desperation and also because he was drunk, he resorted to kicking the bus door and causing it to shatter.
According to Yahoo, Chua drank alcohol at a coffee shop in Bedok with his wife and friends on 8 June 2016. He then left for home with his wife and boarded a bus from Bedok Interchange shortly before midnight.
About half an hour after midnight, the bus driver stopped the bus behind a taxi, which was picking up a passenger as it was travelling on a single-lane road along Bedok North Street 3.
Chua then started hurling vulgarities at the bus driver while gesturing at him aggressively. Other commuters on board moved away from Chua as they were disturbed by his actions.
After the taxi moved off, the bus remained stationary at the bus stop. Chua continued to scold the bus driver with vulgarities and pressed the bus stopping button repeatedly, even after the bus driver tried explaining to him that he had not been able to move the bus.
And before the bus driver could open the rear door of the bus, Chua kicked at it repeatedly, causing a glass panel to shatter.
Commuters were terrified and asked the bus driver to open the front door for them to alight. Chua then walked to the front of the bus with his wife and continued to swear at the bus driver. He also waved his fingers in the bus driver’s face before alighting from the bus.
The bus driver gave the couple a chase for a short distance, but the couple fled up the stairs to their flat at Bedok North Street 3.
The incident, which was captured by CCTV footage in the bus, was later reported to the call centre by the bus driver.
According to Chua’s lawyer, Chua felt nauseous and needed to pee badly. He kept pressing the bell of the bus to signal to the driver to stop out of desperation. He had not realised that a taxi had stopped along the one-way road to pick up a passenger. Chua lost his temper momentarily as he was in his intoxicated and uncomfortable state.
The result of Chua’s actions had caused him $1,298.76 in damages, which Chua had fully paid SBS Transit.
However, the prosecution said that a person who urgently needed to relieve himself would not have “burst into a tirade of profanity”.
The prosecution also pointed out that Chua did not immediately exit to relieve himself, but instead, he still had time and presence of mind to wave his fingers in the driver’s face and continue swearing at him. It was also revealed by the prosecution that compensation was only made to SBS after Chua was tracked down by the police, and not when Chua had sobered up and realised what he had done.
For committing mischief and causing loss or damage of $500 or more, Chua could have been jailed up to two years and/or fined.
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