HE TAKES the bus daily to get his lunch – a short two-stop journey on service 171 from Sembawang Road to Chong Pang Market Food Centre near Yishun Avenue 5.
But at 12.30pm on Thursday, the 86-year-old retiree got a rude shock when he tried to take an empty second-row aisle seaton the bus.
Mr Fong Kiang said a teenager who was next to the seat kicked him and told him that the seat was reserved for his friend who would be boarding later.
Even worse, he assaulted Mr Fong who scolded him for being disrespectful.
Mr Fong, who used to work as a ship engine fitter, suffered bleeding and bruises onhis right arm.
He told The New Paper yesterday at his home: “I boarded the bus and looked for a seat even though it’s only for two stops. Old people, our legs are not strong.
“I tried to take the empty seat, but I felt someone kicking me from behind.”
He said the teen appeared to be in school uniform – white shirt and navy blue pants – but he didn’t notice whether he was wearing a badge.
“I haven’t seen him on the bus before. I asked him why I can’t sit when I have paid the fare,” Mr Fong said in Cantonese.
“I scolded him for not letting an old man have a seat and for kicking me. I asked him what his teachers had been teaching him.”
The teen then threw a punch at his chest, said Mr Fong.
“It was very sudden. He didn’t say anything. His fist just came out. He then grabbed my bag and kicked me, causing me to fall down.”
The 20 or so passengers in the bus didn’t do anything to help, Mr Fong said.
Two women sitting nearby actually moved away, he added.
The youth then tried to alight, but he was stopped by the driver,who made him apologise.
Mr Fong said: “He was scared when the driver asked him why he beat me. He said ‘sorry’.
“As it was my stop to get off, I did so quickly. I had to sit at the bus stop to catch my breath. I then realised that my right arm was bleeding.”
Mr Fong said the doctor who treated his injuries told him that they would take about two weeks to heal.
“I have to take anti-inflammatory medication and apply antiseptic cream. This incident shows that the young people of today are terrible.”
A spokesman for SMRT told TNP that it is investigating the incident, but wasn’t able to confirm any details at press time.
Mr Fong, who has five adult children and eight grandchildren, did not make a police report because he felt it would go against his Christian faith.
He said: “When I go to church, I will pray and ask God to forgive the teenager for his sins. I just want to raise awareness about this incident.
So aggressive
“I can’t believe the actions of young people these days. They are so aggressive.”
Mr Fong’s eldest daughter, Madam Susan Fong, 50, a tutor, said young people are becoming more impatient towards the elderly.
For example, she said, when they board the bus, they will often push past an elderly person to get a seat.
She said: “My dad goes out daily as a form of exercise. It’s good for him, but we are also worried when we hear of such things.
“Maybe my dad had accidentally sat down because the bus motion was jerky and he happened to sit on the teen’s foot. He’s an old man, it’s excusable.
“But for the teen to insist on keeping the seat for his friend and, worse, to get violent, that’s inexcusable.”
Educators condemned the boy’s act.
Said Ms Li Wei, principal of private school FIS Institute: “What the boy did was horrific and heartbreaking. How can our children lack even basic compassion for the elderly?”
She added that if the boy were from her school, she would inform his parents immediately and rebuke him in front of the whole school.
Ms Helen Choo, principal of Tampines Junior College, was similarly dismayed.
She said she would consider sending the youth for counselling to see if he has anger management issues.
Ms Choo also felt that the passengers ought to have helped the old man.
Mr Fong is now careful to avoid confrontations when he travels on the bus.
He said: “When I took the bus today, there was a man in his 20s or 30s who put his bag on a seat. There was no other seat, but I didn’t dare to ask him to move his bag away.
“I don’t want to get beaten up again. Once is enough.”
This article was first published in The New Paper.
