A San Francisco woman could face up to 16 years in prison after what may have been a racially charged attack on a South Asian Uber driver. The 24-year-old Arna Kimiai and her two companions have gone 'viral' on social media for all the wrong reasons.
On March 7, Kimiai assaulted their South Asian Uber driver Subhakar Khadka after the 32 year old asked them to wear facemasks. Not only did the passengers flout Covid-19 norms, they attacked the Uber driver when he stated the requirements for availing Uber's service during the pandemic.
In a video captured by Khadka, which has now gained over 3.5 million Twitter views, Kimiai can be seen assaulting him by coughing at him and snatching his phone and facemask while using expletives. Throughout the clip, the women appear to harass him, and one of the women allegedly even used pepper spray inside the vehicle before exiting.
Uber has banned the woman's account and she has reportedly turned herself in to the police after learing about the warrant for her arrest.
The United States has been dealing with rising violence against Asians since the Covid-19 pandemic. The Stop AAPI Hate forum reported around 3,800 incidents of violence against Asians in just last year. This is a big spike from the year before, which recorded around 2,600 such instances.
The San Francisco District Attorney's Office told local media that she was faced with multiple charges that included 'assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury against a transportation driver', 'contravention of a Covid-19 health order' and 'first-degree attempted robbery on a transit operator'. If convicted on all charges, she could face 16 years in jail and a fine of $3,000, as per a report in Business Today.
According to an MSN news report, Khanka said that Kimiai taunted and cursed at him whilst questioning him about "being a man".
"The ladies were even talking about shooting me, calling their cousins to shoot me. They were making fun of my race", he said.
He got $120 as compensation from Uber for the incident.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page was created to support him and has already amassed over $100,000.