blog
Tram Fight
It was around 6:45pm last night after I had finished my shift at Officeworks and I was waiting for the no. 78 tram on Church Street to get back home. When it finally arrived, I got on and there were two guys shouting at each other.
Scarf-guy then stood up and said to Blue Singlet-guy “…that's it! I've had enough of this!”. They then started pushing and grabbing each other, exchanging punches right in front of me! I was confounded and couldn't believe what was happening. I thought it would just be a quick biff and it'd be all over quickly, and then there was blood. It makes me squeamish to even think about it now. They were very intensely knocking each other out, and at one point, I saw Scarf-guy biting Singlet-guy's finger so intently I was sure he was going to bite it off completely.
Singlet-guy's girlfriend was there and pleading for help in breaking up the fight, and getting more and more distressed and in tears. Admittedly I wasn't very much help in breaking them up, but it was basically just me and one other guy in a black jacket trying the pull them away from each other. Of course, I was afraid of getting involved and/or getting hurt in the midst of it all. I know I'm not very strong and these two guys were big burly blokes.
From what I've heard, apparently Singlet-guy was smoking on the tram, and Scarf-guy told him off and asked that he put it out. Singlet-guy wasn't too happy and started verbally abusing him. Also, Singlet-guy's girlfriend was saying that he was on drugs, trying to explain why he's behaving like that, and yet Scarfy was making provocative comments and fueling the fire further.
While all this was happening, the tram remained at the stop I got on, and the tram driver just disappeared! I couldn't believe it! I actually went up to the front wanting to ask for help or have him call the police or something. Most of the other passengers in the tram too remained where they were until it got really brutal and they too got off.
Eventually some guys came on the tram, and recognized Singlet-guy who in turn calmed down enough to go talk to them. Singlet-guy's friends convinced him to get off the tram.
Just when I thought it was finally over, he jumped back on through the front doors and they were at each other's throats again. Scarf-guy eventually tried to work out a compromise saying that they all need to be on that tram to get home, so why not stay on opposite ends, but at that point Singlet-guy was beyond reason and was out for blood.
A few minutes later, yet another friend of Singlet-guy came on the tram, and in a very calm and slow voice spoke to him, trying to get his attention and recognition. It took a while but it worked and eventually Singlet-guy got off the tram and his girlfriend picked up their stuff on the seat and got off with them, in tears.
The passengers started getting back on, and the tram driver miraculously reappeared. Just as we were about to pull out, and the doors were closed, Singlet-guy was banging to be let in, but obviously that wasn't going to happen and the tram moved on.
I sat right next to where the fight was, a void area near the back where there's ample standing room for when it's crowded. There were drops of blood on the floor and on the poles. I was getting a bit squeamish on the way back seeing and smelling the still-fresh blood around me.
It was quite a harrowing experience witnessing the fight unfold right in front of me, within the confined space of a tram, and I actually lost my appetite for dinner last night, and kept having flashbacks of the whole scene right up to this morning (especially the finger biting bit).
Comments
Thats freaky jon! I'm always so afraid of being in midst of a fight. Summore with the machas here at bangsar...
May 27, 2005 2:54 PM | yeekor said:
I had a similar incident albeit not so voilent in the physical sense but definitely verbal abuse. It happened on the MRT where this guy was shouting obscenities at this lady (not sure what she did to deserve that). What's scary was that he refused to get off at his stop (he was with friends who got off) and he was shouting all the way to the next stop before he got off and took the next train back the opposite direction.
May 27, 2005 7:22 PM | johny said:
Glad you're okay jon, i guess the smartest person was the Tram Driver... i feel like telling ppl off when they smoke at places where they shouldnt smoke but what if they retaliated and start a fight... HAIH HAIH!
May 31, 2005 11:58 AM | SY said:
Yup, I r'ber tram no.70 having lots of dodgy characters. The more docile lines would be those on swanston st. I CAN STILL REMEMBER THE NAME OF THE STREETS! YEY!
May 31, 2005 7:47 PM | dannyFoo![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jonathanpoh.com/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
said:
Hmm, I recently encountered a pickpocket running for his life from Melbourne Central train station. Guards and some other guys were chasing him. It was mere split seconds to decide if I should actually help but because so many other negatives just jumped at me that instant than thinking of heroic effort, my body just turned seeing the pickpocket running with some other people behind him.
Sigh..
June 10, 2005 6:04 PM | genedavinci said:
wow. what a drama.
June 13, 2005 9:02 PM | Jurian said:
Damn dude... lucky they didn't swing madly and at other people (including yourself!) But glad you're okay. Oh... ipodlounge has placed a post on reclaiming your iPod battery for free (but with a few clauses) Sigh.. mine doesn't qualify
May 27, 2005 7:10 AM | meewuargh said: