SINGAPORE – The head of a chicken rice business who was filmed mocking a taxi driver has apologised to the cabby and, as a gesture of goodwill, has promised to give 200 packets of chicken rice to other cabbies.
Last week, a two-minute online video of Mr Gary Lim, the boss of The Yang’s Traditional Hainanese Chicken Rice, went viral and raised the ire of netizens.
In the clip, Mr Lim, 37, appears drunk, blocks the way of the cabby and says in Mandarin : “Look, I have so much money, I can’t control myself.” He begins counting cash – including $1,000 notes – in front of the taxi driver, known only as Mr Sun, 33.
He then lunges at Mr Sun, trying to grab his phone. Mr Sun told Shin Min Daily News that the incident happened early last Thursday morning.
But Mr Lim has since apologised to the taxi driver, Shin Min reported yesterday.
To demonstrate his remorse, Mr Lim’s outlets at 8 Braddell Road and 562 Serangoon Road will prepare 200 packets of chicken rice – 100 per outlet – for taxi drivers on Tuesday from 3pm to 5pm.
Due to space constraints and so as to let more people enjoy the food, each taxi driver will get one packet, on a takeaway basis.
Mr Lim apologised to Mr Sun last Saturday evening during a phone conversation, which ended with the cabby wishing Mr Lim well, adding that he hoped they could move on from the incident.
Speaking in Mandarin, Mr Lim said: “I want to apologise. I drank too much and said some senseless things. But I had no intention of hurting you. Frankly, I was quite rash, I said things I shouldn’t have said, and hope you can accept my apology.”
To this, Mr Sun replied: “I feel this apology isn’t an issue. In fact, I didn’t take (the incident) to heart. I’m already at peace. But, before I formally accept your apology, I want to let you know that no matter what problems a person faces in life, he should not vent his anger on others.
“You are a grown man, not a child. So I hope you’ll treat this as a lesson, keep moving forward, become more amicable and not look down on other people’s jobs. Whether you are a cleaner, or a big boss, I feel this is an issue of basic respect towards others.”
Mr Lim had approached Shin Min earlier, as he hoped to apologise to Mr Sun in person. However, as the latter was busy with work last Saturday evening, the newspaper facilitated a phone conversation between them.
This is not the only video of a man flaunting his wealth to have gone viral.
A man refused to pay his $15 taxi fare when he arrived at his destination in Jalan Chermat early last Thursday morning, saying that he ran a “million-dollar business” and “had plenty of money”, Shin Min reported yesterday.
The man, who looked like he was in his 40s, agreed to pay his fare only after the police were notified.
This article was first published on May 1, 2017.
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