An activist who reprimanded a bus driver for literally sleeping on the job was allegedly assaulted in retaliation.
Thomas Fann, an activist from non-governmental association Engage, was travelling in a bus from Kuala Lumpur to Johor Baru on Sunday.
When the bus stopped at a traffic light along Jalan Sungai Ujong, Seremban, the driver did not attempt to drive on after the light had turned green.
“All other vehicles had moved but our bus remained stationary for about 10 minutes.
“Puzzled, I went to the front of the bus to investigate and found him soundly asleep. I had to shake him firmly a few times before he woke up,” he wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday night.
Fann said other passengers were alarmed and worried about their safety after he told them what had happened.
“I called the bus company and informed them what happened and requested for a change of driver,” he said.
However, this did not go down well with the driver.
A few minutes later, the driver stopped near the Seremban toll plaza and confronted Fann, allegedly trying to haul him out of his seat.
“He wanted me to get off the bus for making the complaint and when I refused, he suddenly punched me on my left eye.
“Other passengers held him back as he continued to hurl abuse at me and tried to hit me again,” Fann said
The driver continued on the journey and when the bus stopped for a toilet break at Pagoh, Fann got off the bus and managed to get on another bus to continue his trip.
He filed a police report on the incident at the Johor Baru police station.
He also lodged a complaint with the Land Public Transport Commission and was considering taking legal action against the bus company.
Fann also posted a photo of his left eye, which was red and swollen.
It was reported that the operations manager of the Penang-based bus company said he was aware of the incident and the driver had since been suspended.