Maskless Uber passengers arrested for pepper spraying, coughing on driver

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Two women were arrested for pepper spraying and coughing on an Uber driver who refused to give them a ride for not wearing face masks.

Uber driver Subhakar Khadka, 32, picked up three female passengers from the neighborhood of Bayview in San Francisco on March 7. Khadka claimed that one of his passengers was not wearing a face mask, so he politely told her that he cannot continue with the ride unless she wears one, CBS Los Angeles reported on March 9.

Despite the gentle reminder from the driver about the health protocol, the woman still refused to wear a mask. Instead, she started yelling and attacking him.

The scuffle was captured on video and shared by the news outlet’s reporter Betty Yu via Twitter on March 9. It can be seen in the video that one of the women who shouted profanities at Khadka also coughed on him and grabbed his cellphone. She also ripped the face mask he was wearing.

UBER RIDERS COUGH ON, ASSAULT, PEPPER SPRAY DRIVER
Driver Subhakar Khadka, who is South Asian, says he believes he was targeted because of his race. He picked up 3 women in the Bayview yesterday afternoon on San Bruno Avenue. https://t.co/Tzr7kTfyKQ pic.twitter.com/f8PiHDZ9CZ

— Betty Yu (@BettyKPIX) March 9, 2021

“If I was another complexion, I would have not gotten that treatment from them,” Khadka said in the report, adding that he thinks the hostility was related to race.

He also claimed that when the women eventually got out of his car, they pepper sprayed him from a gap in his passenger window. This forced him to vacate his vehicle because it became difficult to breathe.

The suspects in the case were identified by the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) in a March 11 release. One of them was Malaysia King, 24, who was arrested on charges of assault with a caustic chemical, assault and battery, conspiracy and violation of health and safety code.

Arna Kimiai, 24, was also identified as another suspect but she did not immediately surrender to authorities. She is the woman in the video seen grabbing Khadka’s cellphone. Through her counsel, expressed intent to turn herself in, as stated in the release. She kept her word and was taken into custody on March 14.

Kimiai was arrested at the San Francisco County Jail for charges of robbery, assault and battery, conspiracy, and violation of health and safety code, a follow-up statement from the SFPD said.

Lieutenant Tracy McCray, head of the department’s Robbery Detail, assured the public that the SFPD is committed to the case and that they are taking COVID-19 protocols seriously. Dana Cruz/JB

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