'Don't test my patience': Man turns aggressive after bus fare inspector questions him over unpaid fare

Not only did this passenger not pay for his bus fare, but he also turned aggressive and got into an argument with a bus fare inspector who questioned him about it. 

A video of the dispute was posted on Complaint Singapore on Wednesday (Feb 21), showing a young man yelling at a bus fare inspector on the upper deck of a bus. It wasn't indicated which bus service this was. 

In the minute-long clip, the agitated man stood up from his seat to confront the bus fare inspector and asked: "Who are you?" 

He also slapped away the bus fare inspector's identification card, which prompted another passenger to step in between them to prevent them from getting physical.

"Don't test my patience lah," the irritated man told the bus fare inspector, before insisting that he did not have an ez-link card. He was earlier heard hurling Hokkien vulgarities at the bus fare inspector. 

He also claimed that he had no spare change nor cash to pay for his bus fare. 

Realising that the passenger was insistent on not paying for his fare, the bus fare inspector told him that he would make a report against him. 

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The video drew the ire of netizens, who criticised the passenger for disrespecting the bus fare inspector. 

Others also lauded the passenger in the white T-shirt for preventing the conflict from escalating. 

Some also questioned how the young man managed to board the bus without paying. 

When contacted, SBS Transit told AsiaOne that the incident in the video took place in July 2023.

AsiaOne also asked if any action was taken against the passenger.

Bus inspectors armed with body cameras 

In January 2019, SMRT announced that their bus fare inspectors would be equipped with body cameras, reported The Straits Times. 

"The technology helps to verify reported incidents and feedback from the public. It is also used during contingencies to enhance our operational response," said Margaret Teo, SMRT's chief communications officer then. 

Teo added that the recordings from bus fare inspectors' cameras are only viewed by authorised staff when required, and are stored securely in SMRT's Bus Operations Control Centre. 

The data is also managed in compliance with the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), she said. 

READ ALSO: 'Let's all live a honest life': Bus driver calls out fare cheats, shows how he can tell

claudiatan@asiaone.com