TOUGHENED MEASURES ON PUBLIC SAFETY VIOLATORS

[Anchor Lead]

Wearing masks when using public transportation is now mandatory. But some passengers refuse to follow the rule and even assault bus drivers for telling them to get off. Police have vowed stern actions against those who obstruct public transport by refusing to wear masks.

[Pkg]

A running bus all of a sudden comes to a halt. The driver tells a passenger to get off,for not wearing a mask. He refuses to comply.

[Soundbite] LEE JUNG-WOOK(BUS PASSENGER) : "Someone even gave him a mask, but he still refused to put it on."

Other passengers had to wait inside the bus for more than ten minutes until the police arrived.

[Soundbite] POLICE OFFICER : "Get off the bus. You're inconveniencing other passengers."

Some "maskless" passengers manage to sneak into a bus when the driver has no time to respond.

[Soundbite] SHIN CHUL-HEE(BUS DRIVER) : "They rush in as the door closes, then quickly sit at the back. There's not enough time for us to respond."

In other cases, bus drivers were assaulted for asking passengers to wear masks.

[Soundbite] YANG HEUNG-MAN(BUS DRIVER) : "I stopped the car and approached the passenger. The passenger ran towards me, then pushed me."

It's been a month since masks became mandatory in public transportation. So far, more than 1,100 cases of refusal to follow that rule have been reported. Police vowed stern measures against those who obstruct the operation of public transportation by refusing to put on protective face masks.