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
Iran President Ebrahim Raisi found dead at helicopter crash site, state media says
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister and others have been found dead at the site of a helicopter crash Monday, state media reported. Raisi was 63.
Court eases internet restrictions for Sask. man who matched with a 15-year-old girl on Tinder
A Saskatchewan man who had a sexual encounter with a 15-year-old girl he met on Tinder successfully appealed to shorten release conditions barring him from online dating.
Stittsville residents seeking answers as bylaw cracks down on street basketball nets
Stittsville residents on Kearnsley Way are seeking answers after an unusual bylaw crackdown on Friday. Every home with a basketball net received a ticket instructing homeowners to remove their nets from the road.
'A horrible way to start the summer': 3 killed in serious boat crash on lake north of Kingston, Ont.
Three people were killed and five others were injured Saturday night following a boat crash on the Buck Bay area of Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont., the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said.
What do we know so far about the mysterious crash of the helicopter carrying Iran's president?
The apparent crash of a helicopter carrying Iran's president and foreign minister on Sunday sent shock waves around the region.
Ex-partner charged with first-degree murder after 55-year-old woman killed in Montreal
Less than 24 hours after Montreal's 12th homicide investigation began, Montreal police confirmed that a 55-year-old woman's death in St. Michel is the island's 13th homicide. The woman's ex-spouse has been charged with first-degree murder.
Walmart, Costco refusing to sign grocery code of conduct 'untenable': industry minister
Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says it's 'untenable' for 'smaller players' like Walmart and Costco to delay signing on to the government- and industry-led grocery code of conduct, now that industry giant Loblaw has agreed to do so.
VIDEO Born without front legs, this dog has been inspiring the world for 3 years: Dresden farm owner
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
Toxic drugs circulating in northeastern Ont., police say
Canada’s largest First Nations police service, the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service issued a community safety alert as extremely toxic drugs are likely circulating in many of the communities it serves.