A bizarre brawl broke out on a public bus in the city of Keelung, Taiwan, on Monday (13 Oct) evening.
A 57-year-old woman, surnamed Wei (name transliterated from Chinese), clashed with a 76-year-old man, surnamed Yang, over who should sit by the aisle in the priority seating area.
Even though no police report was lodged, it was later revealed that Wei was a wanted suspect for a previous case of theft.
According to Taiwan’s The Liberty Times, the incident happened at about 6.40pm on 13 Oct.
Wei had boarded first and was seated in the priority aisle seat.
Later, Yang, who had mobility issues, boarded the bus and asked Wei where she would be alighting — he wanted to trade seats with Wei for easier access when alighting.
Wei took offence, questioning why he wanted to know her destination. The exchange escalated quickly.
Yang sat by the window but continued voicing his displeasure, saying Wei did not look like someone who needed a priority seat.
Irritated, Wei eventually gave up her seat, but Yang allegedly kept criticising her.
As tempers flared, Wei removed her slipper and hit Yang on the head.
A 54-second video circulating online also showed Yang blocking the strikes with his hands and even kicking back several times.
Source: @threadss.2486 on Instagram
During the scuffle, both of their slippers fell off. Wei picked one up, thinking it was hers, and continued striking Yang before storming off the bus.
Once outside, she realised she had grabbed Yang’s slipper by mistake and went back onto the bus to retrieve her own.
As she bent down to pick it up, Yang kicked her in the face four times, prompting gasps from other passengers.
Source: @threadss.2486 on Instagram
Although no formal police report was filed, officers contacted both parties for questioning to clarify what happened.
When checking Wei’s identity, police discovered she was a wanted suspect for a previous theft case and had failed to appear in court.
This incident drew comparison to a similar incident on the Taipei Metro in September.
An elderly woman who demanded a priority seat from another commuter was sent flying after getting kicked by the latter. The elderly woman was later discovered to be a wanted suspect and was arrested the next day.
Also read: Passenger kicks elderly woman on Taiwan subway after being hit by bag over priority seat
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from @threadss.2486 on Instagram.