Toronto chef describes being attacked on the TTC in alleged hate crime
Toronto chef, Sonam Pontsang, has become an online sensation — but not for his cooking.
About a week ago, the 34-year-old posted a video on TikTok, showing a portion of an alleged altercation he says he was involved in at Castle Frank subway station. Since then, his post has garnered more than 100,000 views.
“Somebody shoved [me] from the middle of the stairs, and I had to run as fast as I can, [down the] bottom ten stairs. I looked behind and he’s standing in front of me, and he’s just yelling a bunch of racial slur[s] and telling me, aggressively, to get out of the country,” Pontsang told CTV News Toronto on Tuesday.
On Feb. 28, at around 9 p.m., Pontsang said he was on his way home from his restaurant, Momo Ghar, when the attack happened.
“He’s right in front of my face. Anywhere I move — he’s just stepping in front of me,” he said.
Pontsang said he was trying to avoid a fight, given all he’d heard in recent months about violent incidents on the TTC. He says he was also worried the man, who kept fiddling with his backpack, could be armed. But Pontsang claims the man wouldn’t leave him alone.
“He saw my tattoos and he grabbed my hand and he tried to, like, he took a lighter out of his backpack and tried to torch it, aggressively,” he said.
At that point, Pontsang says — he’d “had enough.” He shook the man off and kicked him, before his alleged assailant took off down the platform.
“I stood my ground and I yelled back at him and said, ‘You have to step out of the subway system right now.’ Like, I didn’t want him to prey on another victim,” he said.
That’s the portion of the interaction captured on the TikTok video. In the clip, you can hear Pontsang yell, “You’re getting out of the subway, see what I mean?”
The man responds, “Get away from me, boy, I’m not a girl.”
Pontsang says he followed the man, but his alleged attacker ended up getting on a passing subway train right before the doors closed.
Within a couple of days, however, Pontsang decided he wasn’t going to let the matter go, and he took his story to TikTok.
“Because I want people to know who the culprit is — who’s the guy.”
Several people commented on the video, claiming they have had similar experiences with the same man.
“I saw this guy! With a lighter in University [Avenue]. He approached my friend and playing with his lighter near him,” one person wrote.
Another poster said, “I saw him at Finch station at 6 a.m., he was threatening randoms as they were going to work, I was well away but he was super loud.”
“One of the challenges we face about repeat offenders on the TTC is that we don’t have the ability to actually ban people. The courts have to do that,” TTC spokesperson Stuart Green told CTV News Toronto.
“Now we do have a court advocacy program, so we will go into courts and will advocate for, you know, stiffer sentences for people who assault transit workers, or who commit crime on public transit.”
But Green says people have to report crimes like this to both the TTC — and police — because they can’t fix what they don’t know.
Pontsang admits he did not report the incident. He adds, however, that he hopes his alleged assailant learned something from their run-in.
“Hopefully, he won’t do it again. Maybe he’ll think twice before approaching any vulnerable people.”
Green says the TTC circulates pictures to staff — privately — of people who are banned from the TTC, and their images can also be found in collector booths.
“If any staff see someone who’s not supposed to be in the system, they will call,” Green said.
As for customers, Green stresses that they shouldn’t wait to report an incident because security video is erased after 72 hours.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Ontario to ban use of cellphones in school classrooms starting in September
Ontario is introducing a suite of measures that will crack down on cellphone use and vaping in schools.
Murder charge laid after man falls to death from Toronto apartment balcony
One person has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of a man who fell from a balcony following an altercation inside a Toronto apartment building.
Ukraine's army chief reports tactical retreat in the east, and warns of front-line pressure
Ukraine's troops have been forced to make a tactical retreat from three villages in the embattled east, the country's army chief said Sunday, warning of a worsening battlefield situation as Ukrainian forces wait for much-needed arms from a huge U.S. aid package to reach combat zones.
Zendaya tennis movie ‘Challengers’ scores at weekend box office
Zendaya and castmates Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor have been on a globetrotting press tour to get the word out about Italian director Luca Guadagnino's original film, which opened in 3,477 locations in the U.S. and Canada.
Dozens in Italy give a fascist salute on the anniversary of Mussolini's execution
Dozens of people raised their arms in the fascist salute and shouted a fascist chant during ceremonies Sunday to honor Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on the 79th anniversary of his execution.
Have you heard the one about Trump? Biden tries humour on the campaign trail
U.S. President Joe Biden is out to win votes by scoring some laughs at the expense of Donald Trump, unleashing mockery with the goal of getting under the former president's thin skin and reminding the country of his blunders.
'Do not consume': Gift Chocolate recalled due to undeclared milk, soy
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a recall for a specific chocolate brand sold in Ontario and Quebec.
Laurentian University to spend millions on recommendations in second budget post insolvency, but nothing new to reopen pool
Laurentian University's board of governors approved a budget of just over $201.7 million for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.