Tourists claim bus driver left them stranded along road in Little India after they refused to buy souvenirs

A group of more than 20 Chinese tourists said their tour bus driver abandoned them on the roadside as they refused to buy the souvenirs he was selling.

In a 1-minute and 49-second video post, a group of Chinese tourists can be seen arguing with a bus driver. They are also seen standing along the road surrounded by their bags and luggage.

In the post, Douyin user "Wei Da Piaoliang", who appeared to be part of the tour group, provided an account of what happened.

A copy of the now-deleted post has been circulating on TikTok.

The user claimed that the group was also insulted and cursed at by the bus driver, who unloaded their luggage and drove off, leaving the group stranded.

The incident happened along Race Course Road at around 12pm on Aug. 16, 2024, Shin Min Daily News reported.

The tourists were reportedly visiting the temples in the area, as part of a 10-day tour of countries in Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

The tour was arranged by a Chinese travel agency.

The user also said in the post that they were initially part of a group of 15.

When they arrived in Singapore, their tour group was merged with another one.

The combined tour group had more than 20 people.

Driver sold souvenirs on the bus

According to the user, before lunch, the tour bus driver sold souvenirs on the bus, but the response from the tour group was not up to his expectations.

The tour group then alighted the bus for lunch.

When a female tourist wanted to go back onto the bus to get high blood pressure medication, the driver apparently refused to let her board.

He then allegedly made comments about how people from China are unwilling to spend money.

The driver eventually opened the bus door, but it hit a tourist in the process.

Members of the group got agitated over this, but the driver refused to apologise.

Instead, he offloaded all the of tourists' luggage and drove away.

Group left stranded for four hours

The group was left stranded by the road side.

"We wanted to report the matter to the police, but the tour guide threatened us," a member of the group said.

Another user commented on the post, saying that she was aware that the tour group would be sold souvenirs.

However, she said she was told that they would not be forced into buying the items, and took issue with how the group was scolded for not buying enough.

Tour group left on another bus

When Shin Min reporters visited the area, a 37-year-old restaurant owner surnamed Qiu (transliteration from Chinese), revealed that the tour group visited his restaurant after the incident.

Some of his restaurant's business comes from such tour groups, and on that day, his employees had heard a commotion outside the restaurant.

Despite not knowing what the dispute was about, the staff provided the tourists with drinks and refreshments to placate them and prevent them from disturbing other diners.

He said the group eventually left on another bus that came to pick them up.

Bus drivers sell trinkets to earn extra money

Speaking to Shin Min, a 70-year-old driver who drove a tour bus to the same area on Aug. 20 said he recognised the driver in the video as his colleague.

Bus drivers do try to sell souvenir items costing a few dollars each, but will never force tourists to buy them, said the driver.

It's hard making a living as a tour bus driver, he added, saying that they don't receive tips, and that they have to handle heavy luggages.

Top photo via Douyin