Singapore Chinese cab driver abuses woman passenger after assuming she is Indian, probe launched

A Singapore-based Chinese cab driver is currently under investigation for abusing a woman and her daughter during their ride. The man had mistaken her ethnicity and the two engaged in an increasingly heated debate over the destination and route. The commute was booked via ride-hailing platform TATA at around 2 pm on Saturday.

“You are Indian, you are stupid,”46-year-old Janelle Hoeden recalled the driver as saying. 

According to reports, the Eurasian-origin passenger had been travelling with her nine-year-old daughter. The ride reportedly stated on a peaceful note before the driver suddenly got upset that part of the road was blocked due to construction of an upcoming metro line. 

“He started shouting at me, saying that I gave him the wrong address and wrong directions,” she said.

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The interaction got progressively more heated over time and was recorded by Hoeden on her phone. The video – later uploaded to social media and shared widely by others – also showed the Chinese driver accusing her daughter of being less than 1.35 metres tall.

While Hoeden insists that the child was 1.37 metres tall, the driver can be heard calling the girl “very illegal”. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) states on its website that for safety reasons, all vehicles in Singapore must have booster seats or child restraints for passengers under 1.35 metres in height.

The driver was heard shouting at the woman while driving, “You are India(n), I'm Chinese... You are the very worst kind...”

Hoeden corrected him, saying: “I am Singapore Eurasian, not Indian.”

TADA Singapore has since said that it was investigating the incident.

(With inputs from agencies)