A 7-seater private car was hired in the morning, but after arriving at the scene, the driver found out that 8 people were trying to squeeze into the car. After the driver refused to to fetch the group, a drunk man from the group punched him in the face. The driver called the police.
The driver Tan Mingfeng (41 years old) claimed during that he received an order from Woodlands Waterfront Park to go to Choa Chu Kang at around 3 in the morning. After he arrived at the pick-up location, three male passengers immediately got on the back seat of the car. When he got out of the car to adjust the seat back, one of them told him not to move the seat back because there were still people entering the car.
The driver asked the group on how many passengers there were in total, and they said there were 8 people. Considering that there are not enough seats, coupled with the restrictions of the private car company’s Covid control measures, each trip can only carry a maximum of 5 passengers, so Tan told the group that he could not fetch them.
One drunk male passenger was very upset after being rejected. He yelled at the driver, and insisted that Tan take them to their destination. He even stated that he could give Tan a little more fare. The man then proceeded to punch Tan in the face.
A man in the group tried to stop the aggressor but to no avail. The whole process was videoed by the driving recorder in the car. Tan described that after being beaten, his face was numb, could not breathe properly, and he vomited once before he went to the hospital for treatment. The doctor gave him 3 days of sick leave. During this period, Tan was unable to drive to work and had zero income but had to pay back the car rental.
The Singapore police has stated that the case is under investigation.