scary taxi experience

omgosh i thought i could blog about something happy or recent happy happenings. but then this just happened to me so i thought i should blog about this first.

long story short, i needed transport to go home from work, so i called the cab companies. as usual, the taxi operators are very grumpy..i wonder if it's the nature of the job that causes them to be like this, or maybe it's just that cab companies in Msia only hire single, grumpy and lonely spinsters.

anyway, that's not what i wanna highlight. the cab that i called for arrived and started to honk nonstop even at a distance away. from then, i knew either the taxi driver's rushing for time, or that he's also grumpy like his company's operators. walked towards the cab, and as the taxi driver saw me, he signalled with his index finger for me to enter into his taxi. there was a weird, hamsap smirk on his face and that kinda turned me very very off and made me kinda scared to enter his taxi. but since i called for it, i thought it would be pretty rude to not board the taxi just bacause the driver appeared to be a horny man.

opened the door, and confirmed if it was going towards USJ20, he nodded impatiently and asked me to just get in..and so i did. as soon as i sat in his taxi, he glanced at me from the rear view mirror every few seconds. his glances appreared to be not just stalkish and hamsap, but also a lil abnormal. his eyes were all red and he seemed to have difficulty with his vision. and i started to think that i may be in a taxi which driver was on drugs or something.

i started to get really worried, so i picked up my mobile and called Boon straight away. we chatted for one or two minutes and he had to hang up as he was at work. after i put down the phone, i noticed that he was still throwing glances through the rear view mirror. i quickly called my house and asked for my mum, told her i'm on the way, and she hung up after that. i couldn't blame her cos usually i'll just inform my mum and we'll hang up. but this time, i really wanted to talk a lil longer, at least till i reach home safely. but i couldn't actually tell her that cos the driver might be a chinese/malay, and he could understand whatever i was saying. he could just get furious at the thought of me suspecting him as a bad person, and bring me somewhere and etc.

after ending my phone call with mum, i was sat very still and quiet at the backseat of the car. i just looked straight in front and concentrated at the road, to see if it was really the direction to my house. at the same time, the taxi driver started to yell really loudly at the taxi operating machine (the one which makes a lot of noise), saying things like, "i've already picked her up!!!!!! okay???!!!!!" god that was scary. he was throwing tantrum and hitting the streeing wheel..as if he was really furious.

at a traffic light, he stopped the car, and this time instead of glancing throught the rear mirror, he turned his body towards the back, leaned his chest against his seat, and stared at me slowly from top to bottom..and bottom to top..while catching his breath. at that moment i thought, "that's it. i might just end up like canny ong or something." i was scared and worried to death, and at the spur of the moment, i looked at him nervously and asked, "why?"

he ignored my question, and continued to drive. while driving, he constantly looked at a pair of clothes beside the driver's seat. he kept picking them up and looking at them, touching and smelling them. he would also occasionally use tissue papers to wipe his red eyes. i thought maybe he might have lost a relative or something. it really appeared to be that way. but i still had my fingers crossed..he might be mentally instable.

he was driving near my house already..which gave me much relief. but as he drove along, he missed the left turning into my housing area and just drove straight. so i told him softly that he missed the left turning. he suddenly got upset and started to throw tantrum again. he made lots of grumbling sounds and kept hit the steering wheel hard. finally, i led him back to my house, paid the money, asked him to keep the change, and got into my house safely.

throughout the whole journey, he was speeding like crazy.

speeding like crazy + weird glances + long stares + heavy breaths + yells + wiping tears
= a very weird and scary taxi experience.

i didn't feel safe at all. thank God the journey back to my house was just about 10mins. but while on his taxi, it sure felt long and scary. thoughts of canny ong's burnt body, news of girls getting raped and killed by taxi drivers kept coming into my head. i felt so helpless and insecure. plus, he was such a fierce man..i don't know what he could do.

came home, headed upstairs into my room, texted boon about how i felt and what actually was happening, then he called me straight away to apologize and to make sure i was okay. though i was telling him that i was fine, everything was fine and i was already back home safely, i still felt scared. tears kept on flowing from my eyes while on the phone with him. i didn't sob or cry aloud..but they just kept coming..the tears wouldn't stop. his stares were those that i never got before. it was bizzare..full of redness, speaks of desperation and desire. i'm serious. i know what teasy and horny stares are like, but this one was different. it was a fierce, desperate and boiling with desire kinda look.

but no worries. i'm home safe, just finished HTV scripts and now blogging. got this email from Wong Woei and thought i should share with you guys too.

Please take a few minutes to read this and please pass it on to every female you know and care about. On Saturday, 16th, at 6:45pm my sister boarded a taxi at the Wangsa Maju LRT to return home. At the end of the road, the taxi driver stopped to pick up another male passenger who seemed to be going off the same direction.

Well, my sister didn't suspect anything funny as they looked genuine, and he was going her direction and she was in a hurry. Little did she suspect that she was in for a huge trauma! But when she asked the taxi driver to turn into the junction where she lives, the driver pretended to miss it and the male passenger said that since they were already nearer to his place, why not send him off first and the driver politely asked my sister if that's ok and she thought she was doing a good deed!

As soon as they got to the end of the housing area next to the big walls of the Academy TV3, the male passenger, locked all the doors and leapt to the back and held a knife at her throat and forced her to bend her head down - she had to give up her jewelry, and the $200 cash she had. Not satisfied with only that much, they threatened for more so they drove off to Maybank Jln Setapak and took out everything she had that was around 7:30pm....The driver returned the card after clearing the account! Then they drove off to the back area of Tasik Titiwangsa and dropped her off there. Left her with only $10 and ask her to take another taxi home!

My sister had to walk a long way back to the main road to get help and she is really traumatised by all these. Later at the police station we found out that she was victim #3 that same day! Let's remind everyone we know, as it could easily happen to us too or to anyone we care about.

The lesson to be learnt here:
1. always check the plate # BEFORE you board a taxi.
2. always check the other things that a taxi should have -the driver's ID, the inside number etc, etc.
3. NEVER allow the driver to pick up another passenger - No matter what! If they do, get off and just pay the man.
4. avoid taking the taxi alone, if you can.
5. be extra careful if it is after office hours.


p/s: i think i don't wanna take cabs anymore...