‘Go back to wherever the f--- you came from’: Melbourne Uber driver racially abused
POLICE are investigating the alleged assault of a 28-year-old Melbourne Uber driver who says he was punched in the face and subjected to a racist rant in Caulfield on the weekend.
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POLICE are now investigating the alleged assault of an Uber driver in Caulfield over the weekend.
Uber driver Max Lin, 27, was racially abused and allegedly punched in the face by a passenger he picked up on Glen Huntley Road about 10pm on Saturday.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said a report was received yesterday and the incident was now under investigation.
“Police later received a report yesterday (August 19) that the driver, a 27-year-old man from Clayton, was assaulted by the passenger during the incident and are investigating.”
The “abhorrent” attack was slammed by the president of the Anti-Defamation Commission Dr Dvir Abramovich and rideshare provider Uber said it was also investigating, after footage of the tirade was released by the Herald Sun.
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Mr Lin said the thug punched him in the face and took his iPhone — which was later returned — after he realised the man was not his designated passenger and asked him to get out.
The passenger also threatened to track Mr Lin down after the ordeal using his car’s registration number.
The five-minute video recorded by Mr Lin begins with him accusing the passenger of being racist, before the man launches into an expletive-laden rant.
“You are Asian right?” the passenger asks.
“You are an Asian loser … If you have picked me up, you’ve taken me somewhere; you are going to drop me somewhere.
“You can’t even speak f------ English, your parents probably came here on a Visa.”
“Go back to where the f--- you came from.”
Police confirmed they attended a dispute on Glen Eira Road on Saturday night, after reports a rideshare passenger allegedly refused to get out of a car.
“The passenger got out of the vehicle on police request,” a police spokeswoman said.
“I know this happens but I never thought this would happen to me,” Mr Lin said.
“I feel unsafe, before this I felt these stories were far away from me and now I feel like it could happen every trip.”
“This is the first time I have called the police for help and I was so disappointed.”
The 28-year-old accountant, who recently graduated from Monash University with a masters of professional accounting, said the man pretended to be another passenger before becoming aggressive when Mr Lin pulled the car over.
“He began swearing at me and telling me to go back to where I came from,” said Mr Lin, who has lived in Australia since 2014.
“When he realised I was filming, he punched me in the face and took my phone but I had already called police and then they arrived.”
Mr Lin said he was shaken by the ordeal but would continue to drive his Uber despite the incident.
Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dr Dvir Abramovich slammed the “abhorrent” actions of the man and called the attack “sad and distressing”.
“I am outraged by this bias-motivated violence and decry this abhorrent outburst of prejudice toward the driver,” he said.
“Such incidents not only harm and traumatise the individual victims, but also deeply affect the entire community.
“Australians of all faiths, nationalities, and ethnicities should feel secure on our streets without the fear of being singled out for attack because of their religion, appearance, or background.
“We all have a stake in ensuring that such ugly intolerance never finds a home in Australia, and this episode is a sad and distressing reminder that hate remains a force in our community and that it must be fought.”
An Uber spokeswoman said Mr Lin had been contacted and that the company would continue to look into the incident.
“This type of behaviour is not tolerated on the Uber app and is unacceptable anywhere. We have spoken to the driver-partner to check on his wellbeing and will continue to look further into this report.”
The popular ride-sharing app tracks and records each trip and offered both drivers and riders to provide feedback at the end of each trip.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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