On Sunday, 20th December 2009, after getting some army issue from Golden Mile Hawker Centre with our son, my husband and I decided to go to Mustafa, the one stop shopping center where we figured our son could get the toiletries all under one roof.

We took a Transcab taxi (No. SHD 463G) at about 3.30 p.m outside the Golden Mile Hawker Centre. He turned into Kapour Road and asked us to alight as he refused to drop us at the entrance of Mustafa (below the overhead shopping mall) along Verdun Road. My husband insisted that he dropped us at our destination.

The driver started to insult my husband and said that he was being selfish. At that point, my husband opened the taxi door and asked my son and I to alight while he went in to the taxi again.

My son and I walked to the entrance of Mustafa and waited anxiously for him. We saw the taxi drove by us to Shing Hotel which is at the next block. Because we were worried about my husband, we fixed our eyes on the taxi.

What happened next shocked us. As my husband got out of the taxi and walked toward Mustafa, the drive got out and ran toward my husband and rained blows at my husband. My son sprinted to the spot (thank you SAF for making sure that he cleared 2.5 km in less then10 mins) where he found my husband had been pushed on the floor. My son had to pull the driver away to prevent him from hurt his father even more.

When the police arrived, both the driver and my husband were advised to make a police report at Police Cantonment Complex.

My husband arrived at 5.30 p.m. Two hours later, he was asked to pay the taxi fare. My husband paid the fair but made a statement listing down the injuries that he has sustained. He left the complex at around 10.30 p.m.

Lesson learned

1. Passenger still have to pay for taxi fare even though taxi driver has provided unsatisfactory services.

2. Even if the driver has hurt passenger, the passenger cannot bring up a criminal charge against the taxi driver.

3. The taxi driver is in the driver seat and therefore he has the power to decide where he can drop passenger off or else he will take the law into his own hand.

4. Transcab Taxi website state the following

• Whole Team aim for excellence and to provide excellent service
• Experienced people in transport line
  

Till today, I still feel traumatized whenever I see a Red Transcab Taxi.

You have been warned.




(My husband and my son explaining to the traffic police what had happened)











The taxi with the taxi driver. Notice his calm face. Maybe he knows that nothing can happened to him.