Man arrested for assaulting bus driver demanding face mask use

The police in the city's northeastern ward of Gwangjin said they had arrested the man in his 50s after the Seoul Eastern District Court issued a warrant sought by the police on Saturday.

A man was arrested for physically assaulting a bus driver who demanded the man wear a face mask to ride the bus, police said Monday, in the first arrest case for a violation of mandatory mask use against COVID-19.

The police in the city's northeastern ward of Gwangjin said they had arrested the man in his 50s after the Seoul Eastern District Court issued a warrant sought by the police on Saturday.

According to police, the man attacked and verbally insulted the bus driver and also attacked a fellow bus rider who tried to stop him on Thursday.

It marked the first case in which a violator of a mask use policy for public transportation was arrested. The policy was introduced last month to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

There have been a handful of similar cases.

On Tuesday, a man was taken into police custody for swearing and making a fuss on a bus after the driver asked him to wear a mask.

Late last month, a man in his 60s was booked for assaulting a bus driver for the same reason. (Yonhap)


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