It was the first time the driver encountered such physical abuse on the job.
By Fayyadhah Zainalabiden - 21 Mar 2023, 9:22 pm
S’pore Grab Passenger Assaults Driver For Allegedly Taking Longer Route, Platform Suspends Her Account
mustsharenews.com
Transporting passengers via ride-hailing services like Grab can be a dangerous job due to the risks of traffic accidents. But a driver in Singapore faced a different type of threat in the form of a passenger, whose physical assaults left him with blood on his arm.
His account of the incident made its way to the complaint singapore Instagram page recently, leaving netizens in shock.
Following investigations, Grab has apparently suspended the passenger’s account.
Grab passenger shouts at & assaults driver
In an Instagram post on 15 Mar, @complaint.singapore related the experience of a Grab driver who was allegedly attacked by a passenger that morning.According to the account, the driver had picked up a female passenger in Ang Mo Kio at about 9.30am.
Her destination was somewhere in Toa Payoh, so he drove according to the GPS on his mobile device.
When they were approaching the address, the driver claimed that the woman started talking and shouting at him in Chinese, which he did not understand.
He interpreted it as her telling him that he was taking the longer route, though it’s unclear if he responded.
The passenger then allegedly “suddenly…started beating his (my) shoulder”, which forced the driver to jam the brake. Even then, he supposedly couldn’t understand her.
Beats driver again after alighting from vehicle
The driver said he continued driving so he could drop the passenger off at her destination.Upon arriving and opening the door for her, however, the driver asserted that the woman “start[ed] beating him (me) again”.
He thus quickly closed the vehicle door and drove off. It wasn’t until later that he realised that he had bloodied scratches on his arm, which he supposed were the result of the woman’s fingernails clawing at him.
The driver subsequently filed a police report and sought medical attention.
He also lodged a complaint with Grab, who allegedly told him that they would get in touch with the passenger to seek an explanation.
Grab suspends passengers’ account
In response to MS News’ queries, a Grab spokesperson confirmed that they have “reached out to the driver-partner to provide assistance”.They have also temporarily suspended the passenger’s account.
In light of the incident, the ride-hailing platform emphasised its stance on such behaviour towards driver-partners:
We hope the driver will receive the help he needs and that he has recovered smoothly from his injuries.
Featured image adapted from @complaint.singapore on Instagram and Suriyo Munkaew on Pexels.
