Drunk Chinese national allegedly attacks taxi drivers

An intoxicated Chinese national was brought to the Manila Police District (MPD) headquarters early Sunday morning after two taxi drivers alleged that the foreigner attacked them while on the way to his destination.

Identified as Zhang Tianlong, the suspect was said to have been in one of the taxis when he attacked the driver and ran amok while inside the vehicle, prompting the driver to instead bring him to the police.

“Kasi sabi niya alam niya raw ‘yung pupuntahan niya tapos wala, kahit saan kami mapunta, ‘No, no, no.’ ‘Yung metro malaki na hindi niya raw babayaran,” one of the taxi drivers said in Nico Waje's report on “24 Oras Weekend” on Sunday.

(He said that he knew where he was going and no matter where we went, ‘No, no, no.’ The meter was running high and he said he wasn’t going to pay.)

The driver said the man was acting like he could break the windows of the vehicle, which prompted him to alight. He reentered when the man cooled down, which is when he headed to the MPD.

The foreigner was unruly at the police station, and even took his trousers off in an outburst.

He was eventually calmed down after his companions arrived.

While at the MPD, another taxi driver arrived and reported another incident involving the suspect.

This time, the foreigner allegedly booked a ride through a transport network vehicle service (TNVS) to bring him to a hotel in Pasay City earlier that night.

“Nagwawala na ‘yung ano, ‘yung pasahero, tapos pilit niya na na kinukuha ‘yung kamay ko sa manibela. Nung hindi niya makuha, ‘yun na, sinakal niya na ako,” the taxi driver said.

(The passenger flew into a rage and he was forcibly taking my hands off the steering wheel. When he failed to accomplish this, that was when he strangled me.)

The taxi driver was said to have driven the subject to the MPD Station 5, and left him inside the vehicle while he reported the incident. When he returned, the subject was no longer in the area and was said to have hailed the second taxi.

The subject will face charges of physical injury and estafa for the non-payment of the fares. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/DVM, GMA Integrated News