The Public Security Police (PSP) and Transport Bureau (DSAT) said in a joint statement yesterday that they “solemnly” condemn a passenger’s violent attack on a public bus driver at a bus terminal in Rua da Serenidade in Iao Hon district at about 10 p.m. on Wednesday.
According to the statement, the incident happened at the bus terminal when a male bus driver was having his break there. He suddenly heard the sound of his bus’ horn and went to the vehicle to find out what had happened. He saw an elderly man standing next to the driver’s seat. The man told him that he had waited “too long” on the bus and as he didn’t show up he decided to press the horn so that he would set off “as soon as possible”.
While complaining to the driver, the man suddenly punched him in the neck, resulting in an injury.
The statement described the disgruntled bus passenger as a local man in his seventies. The statement did not reveal the driver’s age.
The statement underlined that as the driver was attacked while he was on duty the suspect faces a charge of causing aggravated bodily harm.
Both the police and the bureau stressed that public bus drivers are responsible for the safety of their passengers so their work should be respected and their personal safety must be protected. Under no circumstances is a passenger allowed to interfere with a public bus driver’s work, in order to ensure the bus passengers’ safety, the statement noted.
