Two similar incidents took place over the last few weeks, sparking a local discussion over social superiority.
A third incident of violence against a delivery driver emerged online on Tuesday, this time showing a man violently dragging a Talabat rider in public.
The footage appeared to show the assailant drag the driver from his bike to the sidewalk while yelling at him in another language.
Another man later appears in the video and tries to split the two, while telling the attacker to step away from the Talabat employee.
In a statement to Doha News, Talabat denounced the attack and said it stands with its workers.
“At Talabat, we prioritise the safety of everyone who uses the app, and in case of any complaints our teams are always ready to support,” a spokesperson said.
“We are investigating this incident, and will take the necessary measures as part of our ongoing commitment to the safety of all riders who use the platform in Qatar and the region”.
Footage of the incident, the third to appear in recent weeks, sparked outrage online with the public quickly coming to the defence of the rider and calling on authorities to take action against the assailant.
https://twitter.com/dohanews/status/1470657718545440769?s=20
“When authorities didn’t take the first, or even the second incident as an opportunity to show what kind of severe punishments these horrible people will get, do not expect it to stop anytime soon. Only way such pigs will stop this violence is if their own stability was at risk,” commented a Twitter user on the video shared by Doha News.
Meanwhile, an Instagram user said: “Who are these people who think they can go about assaulting people? Being an individual born in Qatar, this feels very unnatural…strict actions please!”
Another person on Instagram said: “[These] kinds of incidents are happening a lot recently in Qatar and it’s getting out of hand. This behaviour is not acceptable and nobody has the right to lay their hands on others.”
Many people also praised the man who intervened towards the end as others called on the delivery company to install cameras or dashcams to help identify culprits
Read also: Qatar arrests ‘angry customer’ filmed attacking delivery driver
In the latter, a Qatari man hit the driver on the head with a plastic bucket as his companion stood aside and did little to stop him. Authorities took swift action against the attacker the next day.
In the second incident, a white male was seen hitting the public service worker, though it remains unclear if action was taken.
The disturbing videos have triggered conversations on the treatment of essential workers, especially following a years-long emphasis on their importance during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A larger debate over social superiority has also ignited among social media users online, with many suggesting such violence would not be seen against white-collar workers, for exmaple.
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