Delivery rider on e-bike crashes into elderly man, allegedly forces passers-by to delete photo evidence

A routine trip home from the bank turned awry for an elderly man after a delivery rider on an e-bike knocked him over. 

The elderly man surnamed Zeng told Shin Min Daily News that the incident occurred last Tuesday (Aug 29) at about 1pm at the junction between Eunos Avenue 5 and Paya Lebar Road. 

Zeng, 78, was cycling towards Geylang East when the delivery rider's e-bike crashed into him from the right side. 

"I fell over together with my bike, the delivery rider fell down too. After he picked his e-bike up, I asked him how he would settle the matter, but he ignored me," Zeng recounted to the Chinese daily. 

As Zeng was injured and weak from the fall, two good Samaritans helped him up and informed his daughter. 

Stopped passers-by from calling police

Speaking to Shin Min, Zeng's daughter said she told the passers-by to take pictures of the scene. However, the passers-by told her that the delivery rider forced them to delete the pictures, and threatened to get violent. 

He also stopped them from calling the police and chased them away. 

"They apologised to me over the phone and deleted the pictures. I could hear someone cursing and swearing in the background," said the 46-year-old woman. 

As she was working, she eventually asked a relative to pick her injured father up. 

Zeng's daughter also told Shin Min that the front wheel of her father's bicycle was dented, suggested that the crash wasn't a minor one. 

The elderly man sustained several injuries from the accident - a broken fourth finger, gashes on his left forearm, and a twisted left ankle. He now has to rely on a walking stick.

"We're observing his condition, but he's due for a check-up at the hospital soon," said Zeng's daughter, who added that her father previously suffered a stroke in 2020, which caused him to lose function in half of his body. 

Although he managed to recover within a month, he now has to go through a second round of rehabilitation. 

'Zero tolerance approach on rider misbehaviour': Deliveroo

The police told Shin Min that they have received a report and are currently investigating the incident. 

Responding to AsiaOne's queries, a spokesperson from Deliveroo said in a statement that the company takes a "zero tolerance approach on rider misbehaviour and will take this extremely seriously". 

Deliveroo said it would cooperate with the authorities' investigation and would take action against the rider if necessary. 

The food delivery company's spokesperson added that all riders are required to complete a comprehensive road safety course. 

"We have also worked with different training institutions to provide defensive riding training, and we work closely with the Land Transport Authority and attend regular meetings with active mobility team to promote safe riding." 

READ ALSO: 'She's in a lot of pain': Elderly woman falls and fractures back after bus doors close on her

claudiatan@asiaone.com