Bus captain sent to hospital after passenger allegedly assaults him at Boon Lay interchange

Man assisting police investigations after allegedly assaulting bus captain at Boon Lay interchange

A bus captain was sent to the hospital after allegedly being punched by a man at Boon Lay interchange.

The incident occurred on Friday (28 March) morning, reported Shin Min Daily News.

Source: Google Maps

Big-sized man & bus captain get into dispute in Boon Lay interchange, say witnesses

Two witnesses, 52-year-old Chen Manmei and 53-year-old Zheng Xiuyuan (transliterated from Mandarin), told the paper that they had heard a commotion and went to check it out.

They saw a big-sized man engaged in a dispute with a bus captain.

The bus captain appeared to be holding on to the man in an attempt to prevent him from leaving. He was heard repeatedly saying, “don’t go”, but both parties might not have been able to speak the same language, the women said.

This caused the man to become incensed and allegedly punch the bus captain on the nose.

The bus captain fell to the floor but immediately got up and started holding on to the man again, resulting in him allegedly being punched a few more times.

Security officers soon arrived and took both men into the office.

No one came forward to intervene as it was rush hour and some might have been scared to approach them, the witnesses added.

Two men grappled for more than 10m

Another witness, a 26-year-old employee of a food stall in the interchange, said the bus captain kept talking but didn’t physically engage.

But it was the man who hit him instead, in an apparent effort to force the bus captain to back off.

The two men grappled with each other from berth B10 to B8 — a distance of more than 10m, she added.

Source: Google Maps

Man claims dispute with bus captain started as he was boarding at Boon Lay interchange

A video shared by a Shin Min reader showed a stocky man speaking agitatedly and gesturing towards a bus captain wearing an SMRT vest.

The bus captain, however, was silent in the clip.

Source: Shin Min Daily News

As the man was talking in the video, the bus captain bent down and gripped his left knee, appearing to be in pain.

Source: Shin Min Daily News

A black bag and a bag of coffee were strewn on the floor.

30-year-old man assisting police investigations

In response to queries by MS News, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said it received a call for assistance at about 7.45am on 28 March.

The location was 61 Jurong West Central 3 — the address of Boon Lay Bus Interchange.

A 31-year-old male bus driver was sent to the hospital in a conscious state, SPF added.

Additionally, a 30-year-old man is assisting with investigations for voluntarily causing hurt.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Incident arose from a misunderstanding during the bus journey: SMRT

Mr Vincent Gay, Deputy Managing Director of SMRT Buses, told MS News that a misunderstanding had occurred between a passenger and bus captain during the bus journey.

It led to a verbal altercation at Boon Lay Bus Interchange at 7.40am that day, he said.

After he alighted, the passenger directed vulgarities at the bus captain, who alerted the Bus Operations Control Centre (BOCC).

The BOCC then called the police.

Bus captain assaulted, sent to hospital for outpatient treatment: SMRT

Before the authorities arrived, the bus captain attempted to prevent the passenger from leaving the premises.

However, he was physically assaulted by the passenger, Mr Gay said.

Interchange staff responded immediately, managing the situation and contacting emergency medical services.

The bus captain was conveyed to the hospital for outpatient treatment, Mr Gay noted, adding:

We strongly encourage mutual respect between bus captains and passengers. We are cooperating with the police in their ongoing investigations.

Also read: Mercedes Driver Who Shouted & Threw S’pore Bus Captain’s Phone Fined S$3,000 & Jailed 5 Days

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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News and Google Maps.