A ComfortDelGro taxi driver has been lauded for giving free rides to a group of secondary school boys.

The incident came to light after one of the boys wrote to ComfortDelGro to praise the cabby's actions.

Stuck at Singapore Zoo

The incident occurred in June, when a group of four secondary school boys with only S$10 on them intended to take a cab from Singapore Zoo to Khatib MRT Station.

The taxi driver, Goh Khee Thye, 49, who has been driving for five years with ComfortDelGro, recounted what happened when he picked them up: “Uncle, we only have S$10, is that enough for a ride?”

The Secondary Four boys said they were rushing home for dinner, and their parents were waiting for them at home, according to Goh.

The boys, who were not in school uniforms, said they had just missed the shuttle bus. They were in the Mandai area for a school project.

“S$10 is not enough for a ride to Khatib. So, I decided to offer a lift all the way to their homes,” Goh said.

The ride eventually came up to S$17.50, but Goh declined payment.

ComfortDelGro alerted to good deed

One of the boys, Brian, then expressed the group's gratitude via an email to ComfortDelGro to praise Goh’s good deed.

Brian called Goh a “very special cabby”.

The email said: “S$17.50 is quite a sum of money. With competition from private-hire cars, it’s even more difficult to earn a living."

“He went the extra mile without charging us a cent. Even though we tried giving him the money, he rejected it and told me, ‘It’s okay, you’re students, this S$10 means a lot to you, use it for your pocket money tomorrow. I also have children, I can understand how difficult it is for your parents to earn the S$10 to give you’,” Brian wrote.

Brian added that the incident has changed his perception of taxi drivers, whom he used to think were unfriendly and hasty.

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Not the first time

Goh also revealed that he once ferried a person with a heart condition over a short distance to his workplace to collect his medication.

Goh said: “I’m suffering hypertension myself. So I could empathise with them. Sometimes the condition kicks in when I overwork."

“I never see this as a loss. Such small acts don’t affect my income much but are believed to have huge impacts on those in need. If I don’t help them, who will?"

“By doing kind deeds, I hope that someone can do the same to me when I become old,” said Goh, who has two children, one in Secondary 3 and the other in the first year of junior college.

H/T Independent Singapore