Discussion about Horrible New York Post Photo: Appropriate or Not?

A photo on the front page of the New York Post started a big commotion in the U.S. The photo shows a man trying to climb onto a subway platform, while behind him the train is approaching. The accompanying text reads, “Pushed on the subway track, this man is about to die.”

The man in the photo is 58-year-old Ki Suk Han of Queens. Han did something few people would do nowadays, perhaps justly because he paid for it with death; he approached another man about his pesky behavior. The man, who according to a law-enforcement source quoted by the newspaper was “emotionally disturbed,” was bothering others waiting on the platform. While most people moved to the other end of the platform, Han approached him and started a discussion.

The man proceeded to push Han onto the tracks, to the dismay of the bystanders, who screamed to try to warn the approaching subway. The driver later said that he could not brake in time, and Han was dragged for a couple of meters. Umar Abbasi, a freelance photographer for the Post, was standing near the scene. He took several photos, and says that he was attempting to warn the driver with his flash.

Readers React Critically to Photographer’s Explanation

Readers of the newspaper question why Abbasi did not help Han, taking photos instead. Despite the fact that the New York Post stuck up for Abbasi, it is still a little unclear and Abbasi’s explanation remains somewhat unsatisfactory. Did he stand transfixed? But he could reach for his camera. Han does not look as if he weighed three hundred kilos. As a reader you ask yourself, what kept Abbasi from helping Han?

The perpetrator, who ran away after the push, has been arrested by the police, according to The New York Times.