Grab driver allegedly took young female passenger to a dead end, asked her to sit in front seat

[UPDATE: Feb 7]:

The police informed AsiaOne that the driver has been arrested on Feb 4. They had received three reports separately lodged by three female passengers on the same day. All three had shared similar experiences with the driver.

Read more here. 

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After having kept silent the entire journey, the driver suddenly asked his passenger if she had time. Despite telling him that she had a class to attend and was already late, he allegedly drove her to a dead-end and even asked for her to sit in the front seat.

In the passenger's account of the incident via a police report made, the driver had nearly gotten out of his car but in the end, sat down, apologised and continued driving.

Ellis Phua, the passenger's mother, shared on Facebook that same night how her daughter had to scold the driver and insist that he send her to school before he sat back down.

Phua's daughter had booked a private hire vehicle through Grab's platform on Monday morning (Feb 3) to get to Yio Chu Kang Swimming Complex.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/ellis.phua/posts/10157220659793883[/embed]

On the way to her destination, she noticed that the driver missed her exit and drove onto the Seletar Expressway(SLE) before exiting through Lentor Avenue. However, instead of heading onto Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6, he drove back onto the expressway.

According to the police report, the driver continued onto Yio Chu Kang, then Ang Mo Kio street 65 before stopping at a dead end.

He later told her to alight at Ang Mo Kio street 64, a 10-minute walk away from her intended destination. Not wanting to have any more contact with him, the passenger left the fee of $17 on the backseat and left.

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Phua also elaborated that this was not the first time the driver had committed such an offence. She hoped that by sharing about the incident, more young female passengers would exercise more caution while travelling alone.

A Grab spokesperson told AsiaOne: "Grab is aware of this incident and has suspended the said driver-partner as investigations are ongoing. Our users' safety are important to us and we have zero tolerance for indecent behaviour."

They also urged both passengers and driver-partners to treat each other with respect.

rainercheung@asiaone.com