Two men were charged on Wednesday (Nov 3) for allegedly attacking a bus captain while on board a bus. And the reason for attacking the bus driver? It was because they were told to wear their masks properly.
Under the Penal Code, the two men, Ahmad Robinson, 70, and Aziz Khan Sher Khan, 61, are accused of voluntarily causing grievous hurt with common intention.
Angry with bus captain
According to CNA, the police were alerted at around 10.50am on Nov 2 (Tuesday) that a bus captain was allegedly attacked by two men on board a bus along Loyang Avenue.
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) revealed that based on preliminary investigations, the two men allegedly attacked the bus captain because they were angry with him for telling them to wear their masks properly.
The two men were arrested on the same day.
They are also being investigated for allegedly breaching the safe distancing measures.
Punishment if found guilty
If found guilty of voluntarily causing grievous hurt with common intention, the two men may be jailed up to 10 years, as well as fined or caned.
And if they are also found to be guilty of breaching the COVID-19 regulations, the two men may each be fined up to $10,000, a jail term of up to six months, or both.
Not just assaulted, but also robbed
In a Facebook post, Melvin Yong, the Executive Secretary of the National Transport Workers’ Union said that the bus captain was not only assaulted, but he was also allegedly robbed.
https://www.facebook.com/melvinyong.sg/posts/296438292300739
Melvin Yong shared that the NTWU is already in contact with the injured bus captain, and the bus captain has since been discharged after obtaining medical treatment and is currently on medical leave.
He also said that they will work closely with Go-Ahead Singapore, the bus operator, to provide counselling support and help the bus captain return to work smoothly when he has recovered.
“The NTWU strongly condemns any act of violence and crime against our public transport workers. Such acts cannot be tolerated and the union will work with the police to ensure that assailants face the full force of the law,” added the labour MP.
He then concludes his post saying that: “Our public transport workers deserve a safe working environment just like all of us. NTWU will continue to work closely with our partners to explore ways to enhance workplace safety for our bus captains and to deter any form of abuse against our frontline public transport workers.”
If you’d like to contribute your story to us, drop us an email at editors@sureboh.sg and we’ll review it. We read each submission that comes to us within two weeks of receiving it.
