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Lady arrested in San Francisco assault on Uber driver

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – A woman was arrested Thursday on suspicion of spraying pepper spray on an Uber driver in San Francisco who was coughed and insulted after asking a passenger to wear a mask, reported the police.

Malaysia King, 24, was arrested in Las Vegas on suspicion of a corrosive chemical attack, attack, battery and other charges. She was being held without bail. It wasn’t immediately clear if she had a lawyer speaking on her behalf.

Arna Kimiai, 24, who was also wanted in connection with Saturday’s attack, said through a lawyer that she intends to report soon, a statement from the San Francisco Police Department said.

“The videotaped conduct in this incident demonstrated a persistent disregard for the safety and wellbeing of a key service worker amid a deadly pandemic,” said Lt. Police Department chief of robbery detail, Tracy McCray, in the statement.

Uber driver Subhakar Khadkas was attacked in the Bayview neighborhood after apprehending three women. When he noticed that a woman was not masked, Khadkas stopped the drive and told passengers that, according to police, he could not continue.

A video then shows the women in the back seat berating Khadka and using swear words while the car is stopped on the shoulder of a highway. At some point the woman without a mask coughs at him, takes his cell phone out of the middle dashboard and rips off his face mask.

Khadka told KPIX-TV on Tuesday that another of the women sprayed him through the passenger window after the women got out of the car.

Khadka says he has to get out of his car because it is difficult to breathe.

“I never said anything bad to them, I never swore, I wasn’t brought up that way,” said Khadka.

Khadka said he believed he was attacked for being a South Asian immigrant. He came to the US eight years ago and works hard to support his family in Nepal.

Uber said in a statement Thursday that it banned all three drivers. “Uber does not tolerate racism or hatred in any form against any community,” the statement said.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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