Ride and dash? Man allegedly goes missing after telling Grab driver he's withdrawing $40 fare from ATM

At $40, a private-hire ride certainly doesn't come cheap - but neither do the fines if you're breaking the law.

A Grab driver said that a man whom he ferried downtown had left the car to get cash from an ATM for fare payment on Oct 13, but he never made good on that promise, Stomp reported.

The driver named Simon had first picked up the passenger that morning at Block 106 Rivervale Walk and headed for an office tower lobby at One Raffles Place.

The fare upon arrival was $40.30, which the man was supposed to pay in cash, Simon told Stomp.

The passenger also asked if he could transfer the money to Simon via PayNow. The driver obliged and provided his contact details for the man to make payment.

"Subsequently, he claimed that he already performed the transfer, but I didn't receive any notification from my bank that the amount had been transferred," Simon said.

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"I asked him to show me the transaction on his phone, but he claimed he didn't take a screenshot the transaction."

The passenger then said he would go to a nearby ATM to withdraw cash for payment instead.

After leaving the vehicle and entering the office building for a few minutes, however, the passenger "came out of the building and walked away" without speaking to him, Simon said.

"I attempted several times to contact him through the Grab app, but didn't get a response."

Under the Public Transport Council Act, a person found guilty of evading street-hail or ride-hail fare is liable to a fine of up to $1,000. 

A repeat offender is liable to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to a jail term not exceeding six months or both.

Responding to queries by AsiaOne, the police confirmed that a report had been lodged.

AsiaOne has reached out to Grab for comment.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com