Story By: John Feng, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
Video Credit: AsiaWire
This viral video seen over a million times shows a cabbie being throttled from behind by a drunk passenger who was apparently unaware that his friend had put him in a taxi home.
Footage from the vehicle belonging to taxi driver Mr Sun, 43, shows his picking up the heavily tattooed man at 4:52am local time on 21st July.
The passenger climbs in the back seat of the taxi in Bazhou District, which is in the city of Bazhong in south-western China’s Sichuan Province, and appears to immediately fall asleep.
Pictures Credit: AsiaWire
The burly passengers surnamed Wu, 29, sits behind the cabbie until he suddenly springs awake three minutes later.
Wu grabs Mr Sun from behind with both hands, leaving the stunned cabbie trying to steady his vehicle, and he eventually pulls over without crashing.
The drunk passenger refuses to let go of the driver’s face and asks: “What are you doing?”
Mr Sun tries to explain that he is driving him to the Banshan Yicheng Residential District as his friend had requested, but the burly patron does not appear to realise he is in a taxi headed home.
In the bizarre exchange, Mr Sun repeatedly tries to explain himself as the passenger squeezes tighter and tighter around the cabbie’s neck and face, clasping his head for some 70 seconds.
Mr Sun eventually screams for help, scaring the passenger off, the security video shows.
The cabbie tries to give chase but was unable to catch the man. He later called the police.
Bazhong police said they found and detained Wu from his home inside the Banshan Yicheng residential complex at roughly 1pm later the same day.
He was given 13 days’ detention for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”.
Mr Sun is not believed to have been seriously injured during the ordeal.
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