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SINGAPORE – SBS Transit will help its staff to sue abusers in court, if they choose, by appointing and paying attorneys, following a series of recent abuse cases.
In a statement on Thursday (September 17), the trucking company said it does not “tolerate any abuse against its staff and will fully support any staff who wish to defend their rights beyond the criminal justice system and file a civil action.”
The company said it would help “victimized personnel navigate the legal system, including appointing representatives and assuming costs.”
The company revealed that there had been numerous acts of violence against its front-line personnel, particularly in relation to the application of the masking rule.
The latest incident was on Tuesday when a passenger, who was not wearing a mask, hurled vulgarities at a 39-year-old bus driver and repeatedly hit him on the head.
The driver received three days’ sick leave, while the man was charged with voluntarily causing harm and possession of an offensive weapon by carrying a knife with a 6-centimeter long blade.
Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung also denounced the attack in a Facebook post on Thursday, calling it “disturbing” and “despicable”.
He learned of the incident during a dialogue with SMRT staff on Wednesday. An issue clearly on the workers’ minds during the dialogue was difficult travelers who do not wear masks or do not wear them correctly, he said.
“The transportation service staff is doing their job, making sure the system is safe for all of us. We all have a responsibility to wear a mask in public, a simple civic duty, ”said Mr. Ong.
“Such contempt for fellow travelers and assaulting a bus captain who was doing his job is despicable,” he said.
He congratulated SBS Transit for fully supporting its employees.
SBS Transit highlighted two other abuse cases last month in which commuters verbally and physically abused bus drivers who were enforcing the mask rule.
On August 20, a passenger reprimanded a bus driver and grabbed his shirt after the driver advised him to wear his mask correctly.
The day before, another traveler wearing a neck gaiter filmed himself making disparaging remarks about a bus driver, who was trying to clarify whether neck gaiters could be worn in place of masks.
SBS Transit Acting Chief Executive Officer Cheng Siak Kian condemned the attacks as unjustified and said they should be stopped.
“Our people go to work every day to do their jobs, including enforcing strict rules and regulations. Being insulted, abused or even attacked for asking someone to wear a mask or pay the correct fee is wrong. .
“In severe cases like the incident on (Tuesday), we will not hesitate to provide all assistance, including appointing lawyers to help you sue your attacker for all damages and losses suffered by him,” Cheng said.
In a statement with SBS Transit, the National Transportation Workers Union (NTWU) said it hopes the indictment against the 52-year-old “will send a strong signal to everyone that such acts of abuse will not be tolerated.”
NTWU Executive Secretary Melvin Yong said: “Going forward, the union will continue to work closely with the authorities and different public transport operators to examine how we can step up deterrence measures to further protect our workers from the public transport”.
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