Singapore Chinese cab driver fined for abusing lady assuming her to be Indian

Singapore, Dec 19 (PTI) A taxi driver of Chinese origin has been fined 3,000 Singaporean dollars for his racist remarks towards a woman and her daughter during their ride over misinformation on the destination and assuming she was of Indian origin.

In the exchange in September, which the 46-year-old woman passenger filmed and posted on social media, the driver shouted at her: "You are India(n), I'm Chinese... You are the very worst kind." Peh Boon Hua, 54, was fined on December 13 after pleading guilty to one count of using insulting words causing distress under the Protection from Harassment Act, The Straits Times newspaper reported on Tuesday.

According to court documents, the victim used an app to book a cab on September 23.

Peh was the assigned driver who came to pick up the victim and her nine-year-old daughter.

However, court documents said Peh was unable to locate the drop-off destination. An argument about the drop-off location ensued between Peh and the victim. As the argument continued, the victim started recording Peh on her phone.

The accused got increasingly angry and shouted, “You are India, India ah, I am Chinese okay, you are India, I am Chinese, you are the very worst... worst... worst customer”.

The victim not only felt deeply offended, but unsafe because of his remarks and how loud he was.

She informed him that she was Singaporean Eurasian and not Indian. She also told him he was being racist.

Peh raised his voice and replied, “I know you India. I am Chinese, you try to be funny with me.” She made a police report the next day.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Sheldon Lim asked for a fine between SGD 3,000 and SGD 4,000 for Peh.

"The overtly racial nature of the accused’s insults is unacceptable and cannot be disregarded,” DPP Lim said.

“There is no place for such language or sentiment in Singapore, and any sentence imposed on the accused must sufficiently deter him and others from repeating this mistake in the future.” DPP Lim noted that while Peh’s insulting language was targeted at the victim, her young daughter, who was also in the vehicle at the time, would have heard him loudly insulting her mother.

However, he also noted Peh had no prior criminal record and had demonstrated remorse by pleading guilty early.

TADA, one of the phone cab operators here, had suspended the driver in the wake of the videos first circulating on social media.

Peh is permanently barred from working with the company as a driver, reported the broadsheet citing TADA.

“The driver’s remarks that insinuated racial differences are completely unacceptable within TADA'S community guidelines and ethos,” said the company. PTI GS ZH AKJ ZH ZH