Drunk jerk allegedly punches Sikh cabbie, steals his turban
A drunken, unruly passenger hurled racial slurs at a Sikh cabbie, then punched him and swiped his turban early Sunday morning.
Harkirat Singh, 24, picked up four riders at the corner of Eighth Avenue and 30th Street around 5 a.m., but they were so drunk they were falling asleep and giving him contradictory directions, so he kicked them out near Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, he said.
The rowdy riders refused to pay their fare, and Singh called the cops, he said.
That’s when one of the passengers began shouting “F–k you, Ali Baba,” punched Singh in the arm, swiped his turban and fled, the driver said.
Singh, who’s been a hack for just one year, was back working on Monday night but said he was having a hard time.
“I’m driving, but it’s very tough. It’s very hard. I’m crying on the inside,” he told The Post, choking back tears.
Mayor de Blasio decried the attack on Twitter.
“Harkirat Singh — You are welcome here,” Hizzoner tweeted on Monday night. “What happened to you was wrong. You did the right thing by calling the NYPD.”
Shown the mayor’s message, Singh said he felt “better” — but he still wants justice.
“They did wrong — they insulted my faith, my community,” Singh said. “They need to be punished.”