The 65-year-old driver, Ng Chin Seng, was reported to have died on Monday, due to kidney failure, among other diseases.

KKIA Limousine and Taxi Operators Association chairman Shamsuddin Mohd Shah said Ng had previously gone through a difficult period and experienced mental stress, besides suffering from physical ailments.

“We have tried helping him as best as we could. He did not have a permanent home after becoming separated from his family,” Shamsuddin said when contacted.

“It is understood that he (Ng) used to sleep in various places, including in his car.”

Shamsuddin said some of the association members would pay their last respects to Ng before his burial this Thursday.

Asked about the incident when Ng was reported to have rammed into three taxis on July 19, an incident which was caught on video and which had gone viral on social media, he said it was only a “misunderstanding”.

He said the affected vehicle owners also did not take any further action including to claim any form of compensation from Ng.

“We know the issues he was facing. We are all affected by the Covid-19 pandemic which has devastated many business activities, including our services,” he said.

As such, he hoped the government will consider the plight of limousine and taxi drivers at the airport.

He added they had not been able to earn a sustainable income for over a year now due to the pandemic.

City police had previously said the taxi driver, who had rammed into the taxis because he had enough of other drivers cutting the queue, was known to have left his vehicle in the line before wandering off.

Acting city police chief George Abd Rakman had said then that the incident had also caused other cabbies to jump the queue in order to pick up passengers.