Uber driver allegedly kicks woman to the ground during collection in Perth: 'I was terrified'
The woman, aged in her 20s, was left 'terrified' by the incident, which unfolded in the carpark of a Coles supermarket in Inglewood, in Perth 's inner-city, on Tuesday last week.
CCTV footage obtained by ABC News captured the moment the man appeared to walk past her nonchalantly before allegedly kicking her to the ground.
She remained on the asphalt for a few moments before the man appeared to chase her out of view of the camera.
Police allege the rideshare driver, a 27-year-old man from Beckenham, made verbal threats against the worker before physically assaulting her and driving away.
He was charged with assaulting a retail worker who was performing their duties and making a threat to unlawfully do an act.
The worker, who did not wish to be named, told the broadcaster the man kicked her after she asked him to separate the delivery orders.
'I was so scared, like, terrified,' she said.
She said her employer contacted the rideshare platform and asked them to ban the 27-year-old from driving for them until an investigation into the incident was concluded.
Her mother described the incident as 'shocking' and said it posed 'a real concern' for female safety.
'To be in that situation was quite clearly terrifying,' she said.
She also raised concerns about information sharing between rideshare platforms, asking whether the driver in question could feasibly work for another service.
It cast doubts on recent efforts to crack down on retail worker violence across the state, including a new 'assault retail worker' offence imposed in WA in July last year.
Since, then 329 people have been charged with the new offence which increased the maximum penalty to seven years imprisonment, or three years and a fine of $36,000.
'Just like other Western Australians, retail workers have every right to feel safe in their workplace,' Police Minister Paul Papalia said at the time.
'These tougher penalties send a strong message that violent behaviour towards staff simply doing their job won't be tolerated.'
The 27-year-old man is due to appear in Perth Magistrates Court next month.
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