SBS Transit Defends Bus Driver in ‘Cloth Towel Mask’ Incident; Police Investigating

Following the COVID-19 pandemic that came out of nowhere to slap us all in the face, it’s understandable that people have started to be more sensitive in general, both to germs and to others.

Recent spates of conflict regarding the wearing of masks have taken over the news, including the incident that happened just a few days ago on 19 August when a bus driver stopped a man wearing a neck gaiter from boarding the bus.

Confusing Dispute

Not sure if a neck gaiter constituted as a proper mask, the SBS bus driver denied entry to the man.

Upset that he was unable to board the bus, the man filmed the entire exchange with the bus driver via Facebook Live, in which he cursed at the bus driver with expletives such as “a**hole” and “b*stard”.

He also claimed that the driver was racially motivated to bar him from entering the bus and constantly brought up the fact that the bus driver was from China.

In the midst of the conflict, a passenger came up to mediate and offered the man a face mask, to which he refused as well.

When the police arrived after being alerted about the conflict, they also showed confusion as to whether the neck gaiter was allowed or not.

Investigations are still ongoing.

SBS Releases Statement

Tammy Tan, Senior Vice President of SBS Transit’s Corporate Communications, has also commented on the incident in defence of the bus driver.

Speaking to media, Tan said that such acts of harassment against their drivers are taken seriously, for they are frontline workers providing an essential service.

Bus drivers have the responsibility to ensure all passengers wear proper masks and put them on properly as well, in line with rules that it is mandatory for all passengers to have a mask on at all times while on public transport.

She also clarified that the driver was unsure about the neck gaiter being classified as a proper mask and had called the Operations Control Centre to clarify.

He was “trying to do his job but was unfortunately ridiculed by the commuter who not only filmed him but also made disparaging comments.”

Tan also brought two more related incidents that had happened recently to light regarding disputes among their bus drivers and members of the public.

Grabbed By The Shirt

On 20 Aug, there was an incident in which a driver told a male passenger to put on his mask properly, for it was lowered, exposing his nose.

The passenger continued to talk to another passenger, further pulling down his mask completely to expose his mouth.

Upon reminding him again to put on his mask properly, the driver was scolded by the man.

The man soon turned violent and got off the bus from the back door, only to board again from the front door where he grabbed the bus driver’s shirt so hard the buttons came undone.

Tan shared that this incident is also currently being investigated and that SBS is cooperating by sharing video footage of the incident.

Spat On, Too

A third incident happened just last week, Tan shared, where a bus driver was actually spat on and threatened for doing his job.

The man in question was a passenger who refused to wear his mask properly even after being reminded about it multiple times.

Following that, the bus driver contacted the Operations Control Centre to report the incident.

That was when the argument started and got so heated threats were made.

The bus captain said he’ll call the police while the passenger said he’ll make the bus driver ‘lose his job’.

The passenger had spat at the bus captain twice and pointed the middle finger before leaving the bus.

SBS has filed a police report against this man for verbal abuse.

Whatever faith you have in humanity? Gone.