ONLY ON ABC7NEWS.COM: Cab driver beaten by passenger in Daly City speaks out

DALY CITY, Calif. (KGO) -- Daly City police are asking the public to take a good look at a video showing a passenger attacking a taxi driver on Feb. 15 near the Cow Palace. Officials say people who witnessed the attack didn't do a thing to help the man.

The cab driver, Solomon Yuen, has spoken exclusively with ABC7 News about what happened. He's asked that part of his face be shielded from the public because he's worried about being identified.

The 60-year-old suffered serious facial injuries in the attack that happened a week and a half ago.

It was a brutal beating in which the passenger continued punching Yuen. All of this over a $36 fare.

His injuries are healing, but the scars of the beating are still evident. Yuen will soon return to work, but now with trepidation.

"I'm very nervous because this job is a very dangerous job," he said.

Yuen says that just after midnight on Feb. 15, he picked up a passenger at Grant and Sutter streets in San Francisco. It seemed he had been celebrating Valentine's Day.

"When he was coming up to the cab, he said he drank a lot," Yuen said.

The dash cam in the cab shows he had on a dress shirt and a pink or reddish tie.

He told Yuen to go to Daly City to Geneva Avenue. Once there, Yuen kept asking the man for specifics, but he wouldn't give any.

"I stopped and then I said, 'Can you give me exact address?'" Yuen explained. "He looked drunk and sleepy. I opened the door and he run away. And I follow him (and said), 'Hey, please give me the fare, give me the fare.' But he attacked me and I almost dizzy."

The dash camera kept recording as the passenger knocks him to the ground outside the taxi. It was a brutal attack. The video shows the man on top of Yuen, repeatedly beating him until he lost consciousness.

Also troubling -- the fact that there were people walking by who did not intervene.

"It's understandable because they don't want to jeopardize their own safety," said Daly City Police Sgt. Ignacio Reyes. "So we understand, But sometimes it's just better to be a good witness and call the police department."

Some cab drivers ABC7 News spoke with say when a passenger skips their fair, they're instructed to call the police, as part of their training. They say reporting a person who doesn't pay can be more of a hassle to go through, so many drivers just let it go. The drivers say they end up eating the cost of the ride.

One driver we spoke with said he refuses to work the night shift since he thinks it is so dangerous. He said there are too many drunk people or people on drugs at night. Yuen said he works the night shift and has no other choice, but to work those hours.

So take a good look at the video and call Daly City police if you know who the man is.