Taxi Driver Says Assault Was Hate Crime
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- A taxi driver says the two suspects in an attack by two men that left him bloodied and beaten two men targeted him because of his religion.
Harbhajan Singh said two men he picked up near Harlow's in midtown Sacramento threatened to kill him and demanded money late Saturday night.
"I said, 'I'm from India, I'm Sikh, I'm not a Muslim,'" Singh said.
The cab driver was forced to drive into West Sacramento and gave the suspects money, but the two men beat him so severely Singh said he thought he was about to die.
The news of the attack spread quickly among cab drivers, who said harassment happens all too often.
"Sometimes they do it, asking, 'Are you Osama Bin Laden?'" said co-worker Ricky Singh.
The incident comes just a few weeks after the murder of Sacramento taxi driver James Walker, and some are asking for barriers between the back seat and the driver to be installed in taxis.
Singh said he will be back to work, but not at night.
The suspects have not been arrested
