Police investigating man who allegedly punched taxi driver at Beach Road

The police are looking into a case where a man allegedly punched a cabby at Beach Road on Saturday night (April 23).

Recounting the incident, one of the passengers Malcolm Keating said: "He got into our taxi which was on call. When the driver asked him to leave and I opened the back door, he reached up and hit the driver."

Keating, an Assistant Professor teaching Philosophy at Yale-NUS, uploaded video clips of the alleged aggressor on Twitter on Sunday.

Speaking with local media, Keating said he and his colleagues had booked the cab at around 10pm.

Due to heavy traffic in the area, it took a while for the cabby to locate them. When Keating saw the taxi, there was a Caucasian man already sitting in it.

Realising the man wasn't the one who booked a ride, the taxi driver told him to leave.

Keating said he opened the back door for the man to exit, but before leaving, the man purportedly struck the cabby with his fist.

Shocked, Keating began recording him on his phone.

"He got out of the car and as I filmed him, he shoved me into Beach Road then walked away," Keating said. "We shouted at him to stop."

[embed]https://twitter.com/cmalcolmkeating/status/1518080661067759617[/embed]

Keating then followed him into Haji Lane and shouted to the public to call the police, however, the man flashed him the middle finger before walking away.

In his Twitter thread, Keating said that he spoke with the taxi driver and learnt that he had seen a doctor after the alleged attack.

"I think he's okay but shaken up," Keating added. "This was inexcusable behaviour and I'd like to see this man be held accountable."

In response to AsiaOne's queries, the police said on Monday: "A report was lodged and investigations are ongoing".

Cabby on 3 days of medical leave: ComfortDelGro

"We will be waiving rental for the three days of medical leave that [the driver] has been given, and will be assisting him the best we can," Tammy Tan, ComfortDelGro's Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer told AsiaOne.

The company said it will assist with police investigations and encouraged cabbies who had similar experiences to do the same.

ComfortDelGro also thanked Keating and his colleagues for helping the taxi driver and for alerting the company about the incident.

"Our cabbies deserve to work in a safe environment like everybody else," Tan added.

She explained that taxi drivers were instructed not to retaliate in threatening situations, but they should lodge police reports afterwards.

READ ALSO: Brave woman steps in to protect cabby from man's attacks in Clarke Quay, police investigating

khooyihang@asiaone.com