The Go-Jek driver who video recorded his dispute with an elderly passenger over a S$7 fare discrepancy has come out to give his side of the story.

Put up Facebook post

A Facebook post on Saturday, March 30, was put up by Aaron Heng, who identified himself as the Go-Jek driver.

Nothing against elderly

He started off by saying that he has "nothing against the elderly, especially the poor and the aged".

Picked up elderly couple at country club

Heng then gave an account of what happened, and revealed he had picked up the couple at a country club.

"Normally, I would confirm with the rider on his destination and the amount to pay and to our surprise, we found out that there was a price discrepancy," he wrote.

Driver asked to see passenger's app a few times

Heng wrote: "I then told the rider that it showed $21.10 on my app while he said that he has to pay $14.10 although he refused to show me his app saying $14.10 (I asked couple of times)."

Elderly couple wanted to get out

Heng then said the elderly couple demanded to be let out of the car: "He suddenly got irritated and asked me to alight him immediately."

"For his own safety, I told him it's dangerous to abruptly stop in the middle of the road like that but he went on insisting to alight him. I obliged."

Heng said that he then managed to find somewhere to let the couple alight and to call Go-Jek to ask for instructions.

Did video recording to protect himself

He also said he "openly notified" the couple that he was "doing a recording".

This was in case they accused him of overcharging them and put his job in jeopardy.

Heng wrote: "I cannot afford to lose this job. I've mouths to feed."

Why did he made a recording

Heng also explained that he had behaved the way he did in the video because he was "accused of overcharging the passenger".

He also shared: "What I said in the video was to say that I am just trying to hit my incentives as the fares are already low. The pressure is immense. The terms are challenging. I'm facing a lot of stress to meet the targets."

"Lastly, I want to apologise for my behaviour as shown in the video as time is precious to us as a private hirer driver."

"I was unnecessarily rude. I was not respectful. I did not explain myself clearly. I pray for a chance to make good."

Go-Jek's response

A Go-Jek spokesman said it has taken swift action to resolve the matter with both parties.

What video showed

The elderly passengers were quoted S$14.10 on the Go-Jek app when booking the ride, while the fare was S$21.10 on the driver's app.