Petrol Station Attendant Pays Dearly For Stopping Runaway
By James Kon

Bandar Seri Begawan - The job of a filling station attendant has become one of the most dangerous in Brunei as frequent cases of assaults, threats and abuses hurled at them are becoming common.

Recently, a male attendant at Syarikat Hjh Badariah Dan Anak Anak filling station in Pintu Malim, had his tooth knocked out after he tried to stop a customer from driving away without paying after filling up his car's tank.

According to the victim, the incident happened on September 2 around 7.30pm, when a man pulled his car by at the filling station. After filling up the tank, the driver tried to zoom away without paying. The attendant tried to stop him by tapping on the rear bonnet but the driver failed to stop.

The attendant in sheer frustration picked up a small stone and threw at the car. The driver exited and returned to the petrol station, stepped out of his vehicle, grabbed the attendant and assaulted him. One of his punches landed on the victim's mouth and knocked his tooth out.

After five minutes of blows, the driver got back into his vehicle and sped away.

The attendant, who suffered minor bruises and was bleeding on his face and hand, first reported the incident to the Royal Brunei Police Force before seeking treatment.

The traumatised victim said that after his employment visa expires he would like to return to his home country.

Brunei Shell Marketing Company Sdn Bhd (BSM), in a press release yesterday, said assaults on attendants are taking place frequently at petrol stations in the country and cited the Pintu Malim case.

To raise public awareness on assault cases at petrol stations and the consequences of such assaults that are punishable by law, BSM in cooperation with the Royal Brunei Police Force had organised a talk on "Assault Cases and Cash Management' for all dealers and managers of petrol stations in June this year.

BSM has implemented various programmes to improve customer services at all petrol stations including the seven steps service standard to be carried out by crews in the forefront to prevent any incidents from happening while serving their customers and follow safety initiatives to continuously raise awareness on the importance of health, safety, security and environment.

BSM said it is also working closely with petrol retail stations to enforce the sale of petroleum products directly since January 1, 2006. The directives were issued by the Energy Division of the Prime Minister's Office. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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