Alleged Racist Melbourne Men Attack Cabbie, Tear Off His Turban
In what has been described as a new low, a group of young men tore off a Melbourne taxi driver's turban and used it to mock and blindfold him. Melbourne Police aim to find the men and try them under Victoria's race hate laws.
Police are currently searching for the four men who assaulted the 25-year-old Pakistani Sikh taxi driver three months ago and behaved like "a pack of animals" while they were being driven from Kew East to Hawthorn, according to the Herald Sun.
The malicious men flagged a taxi on June 9 about 2am after being told to leave a hotel in Kew East and made their way down Burwood Road.
The conflict unfolded after the driver asked one of the men to put out a cigarette that he lit up after getting inside the taxi.
The front seat passenger assaulted the driver and smashed the windscreen, before another proceeded to tear his turban off his head and pulled it over the man's eyes.
The group scattered without paying the fare after a 23-year-old Indian driver came to the man's aid at the corner of Burwood and Glenferrie roads.
Senior Constable Cliff Picket vehemently stated in the Herald Sun that the young men's actions "have no place in our society" and that he was certain that they would be caught.
Police want to question the men under the Victorian race hate laws that were passed by the former Labor State Government in October 2009 to crack down on violent attacks against minority groups,.
Victoria Taxi Association (VTA) spokesman David Samuel told the media they were appalled to hear of violent assaults against drivers.
"We really hope the driver is doing okay and that he's recovering," Mr Samuel said.
"We take it a bit of granted but being assaulted at work is the furthest thing from our mind. [This incident] makes it very hard as an industry to encourage people to work in when these people treat drivers with an awful lack of respect."
A police spokeswoman has stated that the cab driver sustained facial injuries from the incident and reported it to police in June.
Police report that the driver was quite hesitant to talk about any racial abuse because he was fearful his family would want him to go back to Pakistan.
Such an incident echoes extreme violence against Indians and other subcontinental minority groups in Melbourne between 2008 and 2010.
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.