Singapore – A taxi was caught on camera beginning to move while its passenger, an elderly man, was still in the process of boarding.
The incident happened on Monday (Aug 30), along Eu Tong Sen Street, at a time when it was drizzling.
A video was shared with Chinese newspaper Lianhe Wanbao by 50-year-old Mr Huang (translated), who witnessed the scene.
Mr Huang noted that the taxi drove off even before the elderly passenger was fully in the car.
At one point, the elderly man stumbles and falls to the ground.
Seeing what happened, Mr Huang rushed out of his vehicle to help the man. Another driver also stopped to assist.
Mr Huang told Lianhe Wanbao that there was another elderly woman in the taxi, presumably the man’s wife.
Shocked at what happened, the woman held onto the man as he lost footing and fell to the ground.
After the other motorists helped the man safely board the taxi, it drove off, said Mr Huang.
He noted that it was fortunate there weren’t many vehicles passing by during the incident as it could result in injury.
Members of the online community wondered why the taxi picked up the passenger in the middle of the road, especially along a busy area.
“Taxi drivers should be picking up passengers at the taxi stand, and safety for passengers is always the first priority,” said Facebook user Kim Hong Tay.
“Actually shouldn’t be picking up passengers at that lane…if the driver is scared to get caught, then he shouldn’t have stopped there in the first place, especially seeing that the passengers are two elderly people who are bound to be slower,” observed Facebook user Fion Entity.
“There are many taxi points nearby this location around Bugis area.”
“As a driver of any vehicle, we need to ensure everyone’s safety before we drive off,” added another netizen./TISG
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