Photo: Twittter (@thatsiameseguy)
A few days ago, racial tensions arose when a GrabFood rider was beaten up and bullied by a group of boys from a different race. His motorcycle - the main source of income - was also wrecked into pieces.
The story goes that someone in the group lost his phone and the Grab driver found it. Unfortunately, when he tried to return it, a misunderstanding ensued and the boys ganged up on the frightened driver.
In the two videos shared on Twitter, we see the rider cowering on the side of the road, pleading for the boys to stop hitting him. While some of the guys in the background can be heard trying to calm the situation down, no one really stepped in to put an end to things, which eventually resulted in the rider left unconscious by the roadside where his brother-in-law eventually found him. It was said that he managed to update his brother-in-law in the midst of the chaos - too bad he wasn’t found much earlier.
As is the norm on social media, many brought race into it, using all sorts of racial slurs and spreading disharmony. One beautiful thing came out of it, though - those of the same race as the group of boys who beat up the GrabFood rider took to Twitter to spread messages of peace. Twitter user Calvin Joseph said he was ashamed of what happened and apologised to the community who may have taken the insults to heart. He added that those people do not represent all of them and asked for understanding.
When asked how the issue is being handled by the Grab management, they replied that the incident involved a third party and that investigations are being carried out by the authorities.
Racial issues are one of the biggest causes of segregation in this diverse country, and it is only with cooperation and understanding that we can move forward.
By: Celestine Foo
