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26-year-old female passenger allegedly harassed by Tada driver during her ride to Balestier

26-year-old female passenger allegedly harassed by Tada driver during her ride to Balestier
PHOTO: Facebook/Estella Ong

Ride-hailing platform Tada has initiated a thorough investigation after a female passenger alleged a driver had harassed her and asked to "go up" to her home.

In response to a Stomp query, the company said it is also reviewing the driver's past trips and have reached out to other passengers who "may have been affected by similar behaviour."

Tada's response comes after a woman shared her experience in a Facebook post on the Complaint Singapore Facebook page.

The woman said she had booked a cab to Balestier via the Tada app.

During the journey, the driver asked her how old she was and commented she looked "young" for 26.

He proceeded to ask more personal questions including what type of housing she stays in and whether she stays alone.

When she said she stayed in a rental unit with her children, he proceeded to ask her if she could remove her mask so that he could see her face and what she looks like.

"I told him NO," she wrote.

"I told him that I don't want to remove my mask and there's no reason for me to remove my mask."

The man continued to insist she remove her mask and told her not to be afraid because he did not have Covid-19.

After rejecting him multiple times, the driver moved on to talk about her home and asked about its design, if it was soundproof and if she was close to her neighbours.

The woman said the driver then asked if he could go up to her home to which she firmly said, "NO".

She asked him if he was crazy to which he reportedly replied, "Why cannot?"

Feeling uncomfortable and afraid, the woman texted her cousin about the situation while the man stayed silent for the rest of the trip until he exited at Balestier Road.

He then asked her if she had a driving licence.

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Upon arriving at the woman's destination, her cousin and aunt were there to confront the driver and asked him why he asked the passenger to remove her mask and why he wanted to go up to her unit.

He then claimed to have never seen a HDB rental flat before and added he wanted to see the woman's full face.

The man then returned the woman her $19 cash for the fare before leaving even though he was not asked to do so.

She ended off her post hoping for advice on how to deal with such private-hire drivers and to raise awareness about the driver among other female passengers.

In the comments to the post, another woman said the same thing happened to her with the same driver.

A Tada spokesman said: "Tada does not condone any form of harassment and has zero tolerance for any interaction that compromises the security and well-being of our riders and drivers.

"We are currently in contact with the rider in question to provide support and have initiated a thorough investigation of the matter.

"We are also reviewing past trips of the driver in question and have reached out to other riders that may have been affected by similar behaviour.

"We are committed to seeing this matter through in a fair manner and will continue to keep the impacted parties fully updated on the results of our investigation, as well as any resulting actions we will be taking.

"Additionally, the Tada team will fully co-operate with any external investigations initiated.

"Tada is committed to ensuring the safety of all our riders and drivers in the Tada family and will not hesitate to take strong action against anyone found to be in violation of our safety and anti-harassment policies."

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