A woman accused of coughing on an Uber driver while not wearing a mask has been charged with assault after the alleged attack.
Arna Kimiai appears to grab driver Subhakar Khadka’s mask and then allegedly deliberately coughs on him during a journey in San Francisco in the US.
She is accused of shouting racist abuse and laughing during the alleged attack, according to reports in the US.
The shocking clip – which also appears to show her trying to grab the driver’s phone – went viral last week.
Kimiai has since been charged with one count of attempted robbery and one count of assault on a transportation driver.
On top of that she faces one charge of battery on a transportation driver and one count of violating Covid health protocols.
If convicted she could be jailed for up to 16 years and be fined $3,000 (£2,150), the New York Post reports.
Mr Khadka, 32, believes the passengers harassed him because of he is a South Asian immigrant.
He told CBS : “I never said anything bad to them, I never cursed, I was not raised that way. I don’t hit people, I am not raised that way, so they were not getting out of my car.”
When asked if he had a message for the women, the driver said: “Since you were born and raised here in the United States, don’t think the other person is less human.”
The Mirror previously reported that the victim claimed their behaviour came after he refused to be their driver because they were not wearing masks when he picked them up in San Francisco on Sunday.
They almost came to blows when he grabbed his phone back from one of the women.
He claims that after the unruly passengers finally got out, the woman dressed in red shot pepper spray into his car through a gap in the window.
The spat escalated when one of the women is accused of saying ‘f*** the masks’ after he demanded they wear face coverings.
The video appears to show her then coughing all over him, prompting one of her pals to burst into laughter and make fake spluttering noises.
A third passenger does not appear to take part as she sits in between the pair.
An Uber spokesman told KPIX 5: “The behaviour seen in the video is appalling. The rider no longer has access to Uber.”