A woman, who hit the headlines on hate crime reporting, for coughing and pepper spraying an Uber driver in San Francisco has been arrested. Malaysia King was one among the three riders in the ride share. Her actions and those of the other two riders have being caught on the dashboard camera of the vehicle.
Subhakar Khadka, an Uber driver, picked up King and two more riders on Sunday, close to 12.45 p.m. In the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco. One of the riders, later identified as Arna Kimiai was not wearing a mask. This is against Uber’s COVID-19 policy. So, the driver asked her to wear a mask. The group allegedly started yelling racial slurs at the Nepalese driver.
Subhakar stopped the car and asked the riders to leave. The women refused and the situation worsened so the driver pulled into a gas station and asked them to buy a mask.
The dash cam shows them coughing in the driver’s direction – Kimiai on the left and King on the right. The camera also shows Kimiai grabbing Subhakar’s phone and mask.
The women eventually leave the car but one of them supposedly reaches to an open window and pepper sprays the driver.
On Thursday, 24-year old King was arrested in Las Vegas on a warrant for the following charges: assault with a caustic chemical, assault and battery, conspiracy, and violation of health and safety code. She is being held without bail.
Kimiai also plans to turn herself in, according to her lawyer. Lt. Tracy McCray of SPFD said that they hope she turns herself in promptly while condemning their callous behavior during an epidemic.
Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber thanked the SPFD for their timely action and said that heartbreaking hate and violence against Asians should stop.
An Uber spokesperson told Next Shark that the three passengers have been banned from the ride-hailing app. They also said they have offered support to Subhakar Khadka. A GoFundMe page has also been set up for him. Meanwhile the case is active and anyone with information can contact the SFPD
