Man arrested, charged with assaulting Brisbane bus driver

A man has been granted bail after he was charged with attacking a Brisbane bus driver, with the city’s leader branding the allegations “deeply disturbing”.

A man has been arrested and charged with attacking a Brisbane bus driver, with the city’s leader describing the allegations as “deeply disturbing”.

Police allege 21-year-old Echibaketa Byamungu assaulted a 46-year-old bus driver at the South Bank bus station shortly after 6pm on Friday.

Footage of the alleged assault surfaced on social media at the weekend, depicting a man repeatedly punching a bus driver on a busy bus.

In the footage, the man appeared to briefly get off the bus before going back to land a final punch.

The incident has been branded ‘unacceptable’ after footage surfaced online. Picture: Luke Goldfish / Facebook

The RTBU has described the incident as deeply concerning. Picture: Luke Goldfish / Facebook

The matter was reported to police on Saturday afternoon.

Following investigations, detectives arrested Mr Byamungu at a property on Station Rd at Sunnybank on Sunday night.

Footage of the arrest released by police shows officers handcuffing the man and escorting him from the property.

He was granted bail after appearing in Brisbane Magistrates Court this morning on a charge of assault occasioning bodily harm. The case is expected to return to court on July 24.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner called the alleged assault “deeply disturbing” in a post to social media on Saturday afternoon.

He said Brisbane was a “friendly city” where everyone deserved to feel safe.

“While we have strong safety protections for our bus drivers, we shouldn’t need them which is why we continue to stand up for Brisbane against crime to keep our community safe,” Mr Schrinner said.

Echibaketa Byamungu outside court on Monday.

The video was circulated across social media over the weekend, with many labelling the alleged assault “unacceptable”.

“No one helps him … feeling really bad after seeing this video,” one person commented.

“Bloody disgrace. Get in there and help him,” another said.

Rail Tram and Bus Union state secretary Tom Brown described the incident as deeply concerning, as reported by The Courier Mail.

“We’re sickened by the footage of the incident and our concern is for the wellbeing of the driver at this point in time,” he said.

“I know that he’s been to the doctor and I know that he is off work for the next week, but we will just wait and see how he has actually pulled up from the incident (and) what injuries he actually has at this point in time.”

Police investigations are ongoing. Anyone with information or footage is being asked to contact police.

Originally published as Man arrested, charged with assaulting Brisbane bus driver