It's generally not a good idea to run away from your problems.
But one man decided to do so — quite literally — by jumping out of a moving taxi.
He boarded the vehicle on the evening of May 8 at Bukit Batok and had set his destination for a coffee shop in Jurong, reported Shin Min Daily News.
The cabby, surnamed Chen, told the Chinese daily that while the man was in his taxi, he was on a phone call with an unidentified person.
During that conversation, the man started to cry.
"The man told the person on the other end of the phone that he was sorry for his wife, and he asked the other party to help take care of his family," the cabby recounted.
"He also said that he was going to find a loan shark now and that he would be hacked to death by them. And then he hung up the phone."
Cabby waved to police for help
Upon hearing the grisly details of the man's conversation, Chen asked him what happened.
The passenger then revealed that apart from having gambling debts, he was also sleeping with other women.
Therefore, he felt guilt towards his wife and said that he did not want to live any longer.
"After hearing this, I firmly told him that I would not drive him to the original destination. If he insisted on going, then I would just drive him to the police station.
"Since he was in my car, I had to save him," Chen told the Chinese daily.
So, when he spotted a police patrol car at a traffic light, he waved to them for help and signalled for them to follow his cab.
However, things didn't go according to Chen's plan.
"I continued to drive for about three minutes. Then the passenger suddenly opened the car door and managed to escape," recounted Chen, adding that the sudden move shocked him.
In response, the police immediately got out of their car and chased him. The man was eventually caught.
Apprehended under Mental Health Act: Police
Responding to AsiaOne's queries, the police confirmed that on May 8 at about 8.25pm, police officers were patrolling along Yuan Ching Road when a taxi driver, who had a passenger that allegedly attempted to alight from his moving taxi, approached the officers for assistance.
The 45-year-old male passenger was subsequently apprehended under Section 7(1) of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act 2008. No injuries were reported.
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