Since last month’s fatal bus accident in Tai Po that killed 19 people and left scores more injured, attention has been drawn to the working conditions of bus drivers, including the verbal abuse they sometimes get from passengers.
Such heightened interest is likely one reason why this clip showing a tense scuffle between abusive commuters is currently getting quite a bit of traction on Facebook and WhatsApp.
Uploaded earlier this week, the 10-minute video was filmed by a 23-year-old bus driver, surnamed Fok, and shows a couple verbally abusing him aboard his vehicle, the 89D bus from Lam Tin to Wu Kai Sha.
According to Apple Daily, which cited a Facebook post by Fok that doesn’t appear to be publicly accessible, the confrontation took place outside Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Court at around 5:2opm on Monday.
During the tense exchange, the female commuter can be heard yelling at the driver “we’re running late and we have places to go to.”
Her male partner, meanwhile, curses the driver while filming the encounter on his smartphone.
He then can be seen reaching towards the driver and pulling off his mask because he wants to “film his face.”
In his Facebook post, Fok said the conflict began after he pulled over the bus to address the couple and their son, who was throwing a tantrum.
With the pair allegedly hitting the boy as he made a scene, Fok said he told them to resolve whatever issues they had at home, at which point they turned on him.
He said he then decided to call the police and keep passengers on the bus until officers arrived.
The bus driver wrote that his face was scratched as the male passenger pulled away the mask.
At one point in the video, the bus driver can be seen checking to see if there’s any blood on his face.
The police arrived at the scene about nine minutes later, and the driver reportedly had to be sent to United Christian Hospital because of injuries to his face.
The male passenger — later identified as a 46-year-old man surnamed Ng — was arrested on suspicion of assault.
