11yo gets clamped in bus door, but driver shouts vulgarities

SINGAPORE: A mother took to social media after the arm of her daughter, 11, got stuck in the doors of a bus. However, when other passengers alerted the driver by shouting to get his attention, he yelled back and even uttered vulgarities, which her mum said further traumatised the young girl.

In a post on the COMPLAINT SINGAPORE Facebook page on Saturday (Oct 7), Ms Serene Gwee wrote that her daughter “bellowed in pain as her arm was clamped” between the bus doors aboard Tower Transit Singapore bus 106. The girl had come from Keming Primary School and was on the way to Bukit Batok interchange at around 6:10 pm the day before.

But what happened next was even more upsetting for the mum. “Fellow commuters shouted out to the bus driver to open the door and when he finally did, instead of apologising, he hurled vulgarities at the commuters, screaming at the top of his lungs,” added Ms Gwee.

She met her daughter at the bus interchange and saw that the girl was “traumatised” and “visibly shaken,” which left the mum “heartbroken.” The upset mum wrote that she wanted to confront the driver but her daughter “was begging me not to do so as he was ‘very fierce and he would kill me’.”

Fortunately, a Good Samaritan who had been on the bus with the girl followed her to ensure she was okay. The other passenger told Ms Gwee about the incident and suggested that she observe the extent of the injury the girl sustained when the bus doors closed on her arm.

“I was so absorbed in attending to my gal that I forgot to ask for her name. Thanks to this lady Samaritan, I knew what happened. I am so grateful for her act of kindness,” the mum wrote but added that she was “appalled by this belligerent act of the bus driver. Surely the code of conduct does not include ‘berating customers with vulgarities!’”

Hours after the incident, the young girl was “still in shock and her arm is bruised with light abrasion,” the mum added and that she shared the story so that the bus company would “take action to investigate and ensure inappropriate behaviours are not condoned. This is for the safety of the general public especially the vulnerable.”

The Independent Singapore has reached out to Ms Gwee for further comment. A few hours after her post was put up, Tower Transit Singapore commented on it, writing that they were “so sorry” for what happened to the girl.

“The bus captain’s behaviour you described is completely unacceptable. Can you please DM us your details so we can contact you directly? Alternatively, you may email us at [email protected] or call our hotline at 18002480950. We will investigate this thoroughly,” the company’s Facebook page admin wrote. /TISG

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