Singapore Hawker Uncle vs Taxi Uncle – Who’s right and who’s wrong?
A live online video of a man berating an elderly taxi driver for not knowing his way around Singapore posted by the man himself, Dominic Neo, owner of hawker stall, Liang Ji at Bedok South Hawker Centre, is going viral online and many netizens are engaged in a fiery debate over who’s right and who’s wrong.
It’s Singapore hawker uncle versus taxi uncle. Watch the video yourself to form your own judgement:
In the video, Neo can be heard berating the elderly taxi uncle in hokkien, questioning if he should consider changing profession since he don’t know his way around Singapore.
The taxi driver replied that if he don’t drive a taxi, he don’t know what other jobs he can do as he is 50 over years old.
Neo promptly shot back at the taxi uncle, saying he himself is 52. He then sarcastically called the taxi uncle a “lao jiao (old bird or veteran)” and expressed surprise that he don’t know his way around Singapore after driving a taxi for so long.
Neo then questioned how LTA issues license to taxi drivers, given that there are drivers who don’t know their way around. He also questioned taxi operator Comfort on how they hire drivers. He thinks it’s ridiculous that taxi drivers can drive a taxi if they don’t know their way around and kept repeating the same statement again and again.
The taxi uncle kept quiet from this point and just drove on, probably to avoid getting into a prolonged debate with a disgruntled passenger.
Neo carried on his monologue, continuously berating the taxi uncle for not knowing his way and insinuated that some drivers may even deliberately say they don’t know the way so as to take passengers on long rides to jack up the fare.
What is your take on the whole saga?
Most netizens seem to perceive Neo negatively, with some calling him a loser while others egged people to boycott Neo’s hawker stall to teach him a lesson for bullying an elderly man.
Some netizens questioned if Neo was drunk when he recorded the video, but Neo clarified himself that he was not drunk, but admitted he was feeling stressed then.
Neo tried to defend himself, saying that he was just arguing with the taxi driver and not bullying him. However, a netizen quickly pointed out that when Neo mentioned about LTA and the car plate number of the taxi, it was a way of subtly threatening the taxi driver to affect his livelihood by lodging a complain to the authorities.
Neo also posted an update on his Facebook profile, lamenting how “social media good will not spread bad will spread fast”. He was referring to how he was trying to do good by organising a charity drive through an earlier Facebook post in November, but the post received little attention; conversely, his video of him berating the taxi uncle attracted loads of attention.
Should all taxi drivers be adequately familiar with the roads in Singapore to know all the short cuts?
Or should the passengers be a bit more forgiving and understanding when drivers say they are not familiar with their destinations?
Share your thoughts with us. Who are you with? Hawker uncle or taxi uncle?
Will you be boycotting Liang Ji because of this incident?
Dominic Neo probably have not heard about the incident at Toa Payoh Lor 8 Hawker Centre whereby a well-dressed couple became public enemy number one in Singapore for quarrelling with an old man and pushing him from behind.
Find out more about Dominic Neo and his famous hawker stall here.
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