SBS Transit bus doesn't stop for man, 73, so he takes taxi to chase after it & say 'f*** you' to bus driver

When a public bus failed to stop for 73-year-old retiree Tay Bok Leng, he hopped into a taxi and chased after the bus to give the bus driver a piece of his mind.

After a 5km chase, Tay boarded the bus to shout “f*** you”, “good for nothing”, and other vulgarities at the 67-year-old bus driver.

Tay was eventually arrested and charged with using abusive words at a public service worker and not wearing his mask properly.

He pleaded guilty to both offences and was fined S$6,000 on Apr. 4.

On Jan. 14, 2022, around 10:50pm, the victim was driving his bus along Lavender Street but did not stop at a bus stop as he failed to see anyone. However, after he drove past the bus stop, he noticed that Tay and his 68-year-old friend were flagging for his bus. The victim continued driving as he could not stop the bus safely.

Tay then hopped into a taxi with his friend and asked the taxi driver to drive along the route of bus service number 13. When they finally caught up to the bus along Still Road in the Joo Chiat area, Tay asked the taxi driver to let them alight two bus stops ahead of the bus.

Upon boarding the bus at around 11pm, Tay confronted the victim about why he failed to stop the bus. While the victim continued to drive the bus, Tay shouted “f*** you” multiple times at him. He also shouted “b* st*rd”, “good for nothing”, and “rubbish”, amongst other profanities, at the victim.

Tay’s mask was also not over his nose when he lambasted the bus driver.

His friend tried to persuade him to let the matter rest but to no avail. The verbal abuse caused alarm to multiple bus passengers, which prompted at least three of them to call the police for help. The victim subsequently stopped at a bus stop near Marine Crescent, and the police arrived shortly after.

The prosecutor submitted that Tay’s case was on the borderline of the custodial threshold and that any further aggravation would likely have landed him in jail. She also pointed out that Tay was “vindictive” in chasing down the bus driver just so that he could confront him. Tay, however, was adamant that the bus driver should apologise to him too.

Shin Min Daily News reported that Tay claimed his “legs were no good“ and could not stand or sit for too long. He claimed that he had been waiting at the bus stop for 20 minutes just to see the bus leave without stopping. He also claimed that at least four people were at the bus stop.

However, Tay admitted his wrongdoing when the judge asked him to clarify if he was pleading guilty, and he asked the judge to give him a lighter fine considering he is retired and has no income.