Video of bus captain breaking down after hearing of husband’s death should not have gone viral, say netizens

Singapore – Members from the online community discouraged the recording of a bus captain’s ordeal after discovering that her husband had passed away because it is something that shouldn’t be shared to the public.

A video of a bus captain sobbing in distress after hearing of her husband’s death has gone viral on social media. The 15-minute video recording was uploaded on Sunday (May 24) and shared in various platforms.

According to a mothership.sg report, a male passerby saw the driver of bus service 189 parked in a bus stop at Clementi Ave 1 and approached her. All the while filming his encounter, the man asked the bus captain what happened. It was revealed that the Malaysian driver just found out about the tragic news.

Two passersby also offered their condolences to the woman and provided her with tissues and a drink while the man contacted her supervisor from Tower Transit, the bus service operator. He requested for another driver to take over while the woman grieves.

Tower Transit has responded to the incident, explaining why another bus captain who passed by could not help as he was in regular service. A replacement was sent immediately upon hearing of the news. “It is a deeply painful time for her, and we’re going to give her our full support as well as the space she needs to grieve privately,” said Tower Transit to mothership.sg’s query. “We would like to thank the gentlemen who stopped to help her,” they added.

In addition to sending their deepest condolences to the bus captain, netizens were in agreement that her plight should not have been recorded at all.

Many commented that times have changed, where everything needed to be photographed or recorded and then posted and shared on social media. “This is a very personal and sad moment for that lady,” said Mervin Quah. “What happened to sensitivity and discretion?” he asked.

Ling Shuyi appreciated the man’s efforts in helping the bus driver but questioned the need to film the incident. She noted how he began taking a video before knowing what happened. “Man just saw someone crying, and he went up to her with his camera already prepared.”

Others perceived there was “no point” to circulate the video and shared their opinions on the matter.

A few expressed their “disgust” when the man who took the video added a comment at the end that said to “share and like,” a line commonly used by social media influencers to get more views and subscribers. “This poor lady’s plight was filmed for their egos,” said Annie Xue.

Also seen as inappropriate by netizens, they commented that there were plenty of CCTV cameras surrounding the bus if the man needed “evidence” for the bus service operator. His thumbs up at the end of the video was unnecessary, netizens noted.

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