She claws driver till he BLEEDS
# Petite passenger gets mad after SBS driver confiscates her expired concession card
# She shouts vulgarities, rips hole in his pants
By Hedy Khoo
STANDING at 1.86m and with a muscular physique honed in the gym, Mr William Su cuts an intimidating figure.
Click to see larger image
The assault left Mr William Su with four puncture marks on his left forearm and a torn trouser pocket. Picture: HEDY KHOO
But inside his bus cabin, the 33-year-old driver was helpless against the rage of a woman who measured only 1.6m tall.
The petite 20-year-old was so vicious that she drew blood as she lashed out at him, leaving four bloody puncture marks on his left forearm. She also tore his right trouser pocket.
The reason for her rage: Mr Su had confiscated her expired concession card.
The woman had boarded SBS service 55 with a male companion around 6.10pm at Hougang Ave 3 last Tuesday.
The bus was heading for Bishan Bus Interchange from Marine Parade.
She had tapped her wallet against the card reader, which emitted five continuous beeps.
Mr Su checked his fare console and saw that it registered an expired concession card. He asked to look at it.
She showed him an adult ez-link card, but he insisted on seeing the expired concession card.
She handed it to him, and he explained that he had to follow company procedure to retain expired concession cards.
She replied that he had no right to keep the card, which she claimed she used as an identity card.
As he had to issue two test tickets as part of the procedure for retaining cards, the bus captain left his cabin to use the ticket collection machine behind his seat.
But the woman stood beside the door of his cabin and refused to budge.
When he tried to unlatch the door, she pushed the door shut with force.
Said the soft-spoken bus driver in Mandarin: 'I was shocked at her sudden show of violence.
'Then her male friend came up and said threateningly: 'You better know what to do and return her the card',' said Mr Su.
Meanwhile, she continued shouting at him, insisting on the return of her card.
Mr Su immediately contacted the Operations Control Centre to ask for help.
He was told a mobile traffic inspector had been despatched and he was to proceed on his route in the meantime.
A few stops later, as passengers were boarding, the woman, who was still standing beside his cabin, suddenly reached for his left breast pocket in which he had placed an envelope containing her confiscated card.
Mr Su blocked her with his left arm. Thwarted, she insulted and cursed him.
'She kept saying that she hoped I would get into an accident,' he said.
Then she suddenly grabbed hold of his left arm and refused to let go.
The quick-thinking Mr Su used his right hand to transfer the envelope to his right trouser pocket.
At the same time, he asked a passenger near the front to be a witness to the incident.
He asked the woman to let go, but she flew into an uncontrollable rage, flinging herself across his body and grabbing wildly for his right trouser pocket.
She kept clawing at him in a bid to reach the envelope in the pocket.
'I couldn't stop her, all I could do was to remain calm and tell her that I had to retain her card,' said Mr Su.
'Suddenly I heard a loud rip, and knew my trousers had been torn. I also realised my left arm was bleeding.'
ASKED HER TO STOP
He pointed out his bleeding arm to her and again asked her to stop. Only then did she reluctantly let go.
The girl then phoned her sister and Mr Su heard her saying that he had confiscated her card and beaten her.
Mr Su quickly reminded the witness to take note of the actual events.
The witness, Mr Dennis Yap, 30, a sales executive, said he was shocked by the violent attack.
'She is only 1.6m tall and of average build, but she was so aggressive. She even hurled Hokkien vulgarities at the bus driver,' he said.
Mr Su said the insults and attack upset him, but he told himself to remain calm and not retaliate, as he had been trained to do.
Mr Yap agreed that Mr Su had handled the situation well.
'She kept disturbing him and even grabbed him while he was trying to drive. She could have caused an accident. It was peak hour and the bus was almost full,' he said.
'She had no consideration for the safety of all on board. Luckily, the driver kept calm throughout. Not once did he lose his temper or raise his voice.
'He remained polite and explained nicely to her that he was following company procedure even after she got so violent.'
Following instructions from the Operations Control Centre, Mr Su stopped the bus along Ang Mo Kio Ave 3, and allowed the other passengers to transfer to another bus.
Even then, the girl blocked his way and refused to let him leave his cabin to help the passengers.
Finally, she relented and left the bus with her male companion, lighting up a cigarette outside.
Her brother-in-law and the police arrived around 7.20pm.
APOLOGY
Said Mr Su: 'Her brother-in-law kept apologising to me and asked me to drop the matter. But the woman and her friend showed no remorse. They never even offered an apology. Her friend kept insisting I was wrong to retain the card.'
SBS Transit's director for corporate communications, Ms Tammy Tan, said concession cards are issued by TransitLink only to individuals eligible for concessionary travel privileges on public transport.
They are non-transferable and are coded with information on their validity to avoid any misuse.
She said the woman had presented an expired concession card and wanted to enjoy concessionary travel.
'In line with company procedures, this is not allowed and bus captains are authorised to retain concession cards or any ez-link cards for investigation,' said Ms Tan.
'We are viewing this matter seriously and are working with the police.'
The police said they are investigating the incident.
**************************************************************************
Hate these people, they wanna cheat and when confronted, get abusive.
In my year stint with this company, I do get stupid calls from people. They complaint that their cards are confiscated, and that bus captain was rude. It could be them making story up for all we know but you know.... gotta kowtow to customer.
I had a complaint by a customer for being stopped by NEL staffs for insisting that his child has to pay $$ and of course claimed "he's so rude. my child is only 5, he's not even 90cm why should he pay? Finding excuses but in my mind I was thinking "his son 5 and so short? My girl not even 3 already over 90cm liao!"
# Petite passenger gets mad after SBS driver confiscates her expired concession card
# She shouts vulgarities, rips hole in his pants
By Hedy Khoo
STANDING at 1.86m and with a muscular physique honed in the gym, Mr William Su cuts an intimidating figure.
Click to see larger image
The assault left Mr William Su with four puncture marks on his left forearm and a torn trouser pocket. Picture: HEDY KHOO
But inside his bus cabin, the 33-year-old driver was helpless against the rage of a woman who measured only 1.6m tall.
The petite 20-year-old was so vicious that she drew blood as she lashed out at him, leaving four bloody puncture marks on his left forearm. She also tore his right trouser pocket.
The reason for her rage: Mr Su had confiscated her expired concession card.
The woman had boarded SBS service 55 with a male companion around 6.10pm at Hougang Ave 3 last Tuesday.
The bus was heading for Bishan Bus Interchange from Marine Parade.
She had tapped her wallet against the card reader, which emitted five continuous beeps.
Mr Su checked his fare console and saw that it registered an expired concession card. He asked to look at it.
She showed him an adult ez-link card, but he insisted on seeing the expired concession card.
She handed it to him, and he explained that he had to follow company procedure to retain expired concession cards.
She replied that he had no right to keep the card, which she claimed she used as an identity card.
As he had to issue two test tickets as part of the procedure for retaining cards, the bus captain left his cabin to use the ticket collection machine behind his seat.
But the woman stood beside the door of his cabin and refused to budge.
When he tried to unlatch the door, she pushed the door shut with force.
Said the soft-spoken bus driver in Mandarin: 'I was shocked at her sudden show of violence.
'Then her male friend came up and said threateningly: 'You better know what to do and return her the card',' said Mr Su.
Meanwhile, she continued shouting at him, insisting on the return of her card.
Mr Su immediately contacted the Operations Control Centre to ask for help.
He was told a mobile traffic inspector had been despatched and he was to proceed on his route in the meantime.
A few stops later, as passengers were boarding, the woman, who was still standing beside his cabin, suddenly reached for his left breast pocket in which he had placed an envelope containing her confiscated card.
Mr Su blocked her with his left arm. Thwarted, she insulted and cursed him.
'She kept saying that she hoped I would get into an accident,' he said.
Then she suddenly grabbed hold of his left arm and refused to let go.
The quick-thinking Mr Su used his right hand to transfer the envelope to his right trouser pocket.
At the same time, he asked a passenger near the front to be a witness to the incident.
He asked the woman to let go, but she flew into an uncontrollable rage, flinging herself across his body and grabbing wildly for his right trouser pocket.
She kept clawing at him in a bid to reach the envelope in the pocket.
'I couldn't stop her, all I could do was to remain calm and tell her that I had to retain her card,' said Mr Su.
'Suddenly I heard a loud rip, and knew my trousers had been torn. I also realised my left arm was bleeding.'
ASKED HER TO STOP
He pointed out his bleeding arm to her and again asked her to stop. Only then did she reluctantly let go.
The girl then phoned her sister and Mr Su heard her saying that he had confiscated her card and beaten her.
Mr Su quickly reminded the witness to take note of the actual events.
The witness, Mr Dennis Yap, 30, a sales executive, said he was shocked by the violent attack.
'She is only 1.6m tall and of average build, but she was so aggressive. She even hurled Hokkien vulgarities at the bus driver,' he said.
Mr Su said the insults and attack upset him, but he told himself to remain calm and not retaliate, as he had been trained to do.
Mr Yap agreed that Mr Su had handled the situation well.
'She kept disturbing him and even grabbed him while he was trying to drive. She could have caused an accident. It was peak hour and the bus was almost full,' he said.
'She had no consideration for the safety of all on board. Luckily, the driver kept calm throughout. Not once did he lose his temper or raise his voice.
'He remained polite and explained nicely to her that he was following company procedure even after she got so violent.'
Following instructions from the Operations Control Centre, Mr Su stopped the bus along Ang Mo Kio Ave 3, and allowed the other passengers to transfer to another bus.
Even then, the girl blocked his way and refused to let him leave his cabin to help the passengers.
Finally, she relented and left the bus with her male companion, lighting up a cigarette outside.
Her brother-in-law and the police arrived around 7.20pm.
APOLOGY
Said Mr Su: 'Her brother-in-law kept apologising to me and asked me to drop the matter. But the woman and her friend showed no remorse. They never even offered an apology. Her friend kept insisting I was wrong to retain the card.'
SBS Transit's director for corporate communications, Ms Tammy Tan, said concession cards are issued by TransitLink only to individuals eligible for concessionary travel privileges on public transport.
They are non-transferable and are coded with information on their validity to avoid any misuse.
She said the woman had presented an expired concession card and wanted to enjoy concessionary travel.
'In line with company procedures, this is not allowed and bus captains are authorised to retain concession cards or any ez-link cards for investigation,' said Ms Tan.
'We are viewing this matter seriously and are working with the police.'
The police said they are investigating the incident.
**************************************************************************
Hate these people, they wanna cheat and when confronted, get abusive.
In my year stint with this company, I do get stupid calls from people. They complaint that their cards are confiscated, and that bus captain was rude. It could be them making story up for all we know but you know.... gotta kowtow to customer.
I had a complaint by a customer for being stopped by NEL staffs for insisting that his child has to pay $$ and of course claimed "he's so rude. my child is only 5, he's not even 90cm why should he pay? Finding excuses but in my mind I was thinking "his son 5 and so short? My girl not even 3 already over 90cm liao!"
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