British flamed for bullying trishaw old man

This subject caused some uproar recently. 3 British tourists visiting Singapore took a trishaw ride, taunted and mocked the old rider, and eventually left off without paying for the ride. These jokers even took a video of the entire episode and posted on YouTube, resulting in the mass public awareness of the matter. They took down their video, but someone else reposted it on YouTube. Local forums started to flame and curse the 3 British, Singapore news tabloids like AsiaOne and The New Paper reported the incident, and even UK Daily Mail carried the news.

Why are we still having manual trishaws in Singapore? I understand about the "keeping heritage" part, but we can easily retain the rides but motorize the trishaws so that the riders do not need to supply manual power to drive the trishaws. The essence of the heritage can still be kept this way. I don't think any normal tourist who takes the trishaw really wants just to see the riders struggling to pedal. They just want the experience of sitting inside a trishaw, and perhaps get someone to explain the sceneries during the ride. Pretty much like the Duck Tour or other tour rides.

Also, who is overseeing the operations and welfare of these trishaw riders? Uniquely Singapore? How do the riders determine the prices? Who provides the intervention when a rider gets bullied? Or when a passenger gets scammed? And who ensures the trishaw riders follow traffic rules carefully? I've seen some trishaw riders moving recklessly on the road, especially when tackling right-turn traffic signs in cross juctions or some blind spots. It is only a matter of time and unfortunate chance that something majorly bad happens to a trishaw rider and/or its passengers.

Lots of questions but no answers. I wonder how soon will the people-responsible, if any, make some official remarks on this incident.

[EDIT 2Nov07] Look how much talk this incident has generated! Especially on both Singapore and UK forums! :O