A distressing incident involving a taxi driver and two passengers from India has sparked discussion online after the driver took to social media to share his frustrating experience. The driver alleges the passengers, who appeared intoxicated, vomited inside his vehicle and then refused to pay adequate compensation for the cleanup, forcing him to lose a night's earnings.
The Unpleasant Incident Inside the Cab
On the night of December 21, taxi driver Loo Sam picked up two Indian men who, according to him, were visibly under the influence of alcohol. During the ride, the situation took a nasty turn when both passengers vomited on the rear seat of his taxi. Sam later shared photos of the soiled interior and the passengers on his Facebook page to highlight the incident.
He described the scene in detail, stating the mess left a strong stench of "undigested curry and alcohol" inside his vehicle. This made the cab unfit to carry any more customers until a thorough cleaning was conducted, directly impacting his ability to work.
A Meager Offer and Verbal Abuse
The dispute escalated when it came time to address the cleanup. According to Sam's Facebook post, the passengers were unwilling to pay a reasonable fee for the cleaning service required. He claimed they offered only S$10 as compensation, an amount he found insultingly low given the extent of the mess.
To make matters worse, Sam alleged that the passengers resorted to verbally abusing him, calling him a "beggar" for seeking proper payment. This remark, he wrote, deeply hurt his dignity. "I swallowed my pride and did not accept the $10 compensation especially being called a beggar," Sam explained in his post, emphasizing the disrespect he faced.
Financial and Emotional Fallout for the Driver
The consequences of this encounter were significant for the taxi driver. Sam stated that he had to stop working for the entire night to clean the vomit from his car. This unexpected halt meant a direct loss of income, which he depends on to support his family.
In his emotional post, Sam connected his work to his family's needs, writing that he drives through the night to earn "meagre money for the children studies expenses and food for the family." He criticized the passengers' "inconsiderate actions" which resulted in a loss of crucial earnings. His daughter, speaking to the news outlet Mothership, confirmed that her father drives the taxi to fund his children's education and support the household.
Sam labeled the passengers' behavior as bullying and expressed his disappointment over being left to deal with an "enormously awful" situation alone. The incident serves as a stark reminder of the challenges faced by service workers and the impact of passenger misconduct on their livelihoods.
