Man Threw Rock at Taxi After He Was Refused Entry, Injuring 2 in the Vehicle

Road Rage Beyond Wheels: Man’s Violent Assault on Taxi Leaves Driver and Child Injured, Police on the Hunt for Culprit

We’ve all heard of the road rage phenomenon, but we didn’t think it applied to people outside the vehicles as well.

On 10 December 2023, a man was seen attempting to stop a bus at the intersection.

When he failed, he violently pulled the door handle of a passing taxi and smashed its rear windshield with a stone.

The man fled the scene, leaving both the taxi driver and his seven-year-old son injured by the shattered glass, requiring hospitalization.

This incident occurred around 7:20PM at the junction of Yuan Ching Road heading towards Boon Lay Way.

Breakdown of Events Prior

The victim, 59-year-old taxi driver Mr Chen, told reporters from Lianhe Zaobao that he was attacked by a stranger while out for dinner with his seven-year-old son on Sunday night.

He described the stranger as a middle-aged man, around fifty or sixty years old, dressed in what looked like a security uniform with a backpack and carrying an unknown object.

Allegedly, the man had been standing in the middle of the road waving both hands, attempting to flag down a private bus. Despite this, the bus did not stop.

Seemingly out of rage, the man reached out towards Mr Chen’s taxi as he was driving past and violently pulled his car door.

As he was with his son, Mr Chen was unable to ferry passengers at that time, and signalled to the man as such.

Undeterred, the man continued to chase the taxi and pulled the rear door handle again.

After Mr Chen drove away, the man threw a sizable rock towards the car, shattering the rear windshield upon impact.

Mr Chen’s son had been sitting on the rear seat at the time of the attack, but the rock had fortunately missed him.

The man turned and fled the scene immediately afterward. Mr Chen promptly stopped the car and called the police.

Police Are Still Tracking Down the Culprit

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) confirmed with media outlets that they received a distress call near 201 Boon Lay Way on 10 December at about 7:50PM.

Father and son were quickly taken to the National University Hospital (NUH) for treatment, having received cuts from the glass shards on their hands and feet.

Police officers were then seen on-site investigating the incident, and tow truck personnel arrived shortly after to tow the taxi away.

Reporters visited the vicinity of the incident again on Monday morning (11 December) and found many concrete blocks along the road.

Mr Chen also told reporters that the police took out the rock from the car afterward, and from visual inspection, it was about the size of a fist.

He also pointed out that after the incident, he and his son were repeatedly asked about why the man attacked his taxi, making him feel helpless and irritated.

Mr Chen re-emphasized that he does not know their attacker at all and does not understand the reason behind the attack, stating that it was “really unlucky.”

After the incident, police officers are actively searching for the attacker and, as of 13 December, are still trying to trace his whereabouts.