Food delivery rider, 25, allegedly stabbed by customer at Marsiling block, family appealing for witnesses

A 25-year-old Grab food delivery rider was in the midst of completing an order when the customer allegedly stabbed him in the abdominal area on Dec. 22 night.

The incident apparently took place at the lift lobby of Block 214 Marsiling Lane.

As a result, the delivery rider was conveyed to Woodlands Health Campus, where he underwent surgery for his wound.

Customer allegedly asked for S$33 change in cash

Speaking to Mothership, the delivery rider's older brother, who wishes to be known only as Daniel, said the alleged assault took place at around 10:30pm on Sunday.

Prior to the incident, the customer apparently wrote via text that he would pay for his order with a S$50 cash and told Daniel's brother to prepare a change of S$33.

In response, Daniel's brother asked whether he could transfer the change via PayNow instead, as it was a significant amount, and he would need to withdraw the cash first.

However, the customer did not appear to take the request well, as he allegedly scolded Daniel's brother, to which he did not engage further, shared Daniel.

A screenshot of the conversation between the customer and Daniel's brother posted by Daniel on Facebook showed the apparent exchange over text.

In the screenshot, the customer could be seen rejecting Daniel's brother's request before telling him, "Got read instruction or not?"

Delivery rider prepared change

Subsequently, Daniel's brother arrived at the Housing and Development Board (HDB) block and informed the customer about his arrival.

In response, the customer asked him whether he had any change, to which Daniel's brother stated he did.

Daniel's brother then asked the customer for his unit number, which he allegedly did not specify on his order.

While waiting at the lift lobby, Daniel's brother asked the customer again whether he could transfer the change via PayNow instead.

Customer allegedly arrived at lift lobby with knife

However, instead of replying Daniel's brother, the customer allegedly arrived at the lift lobby with a knife.

The appearance of a weapon allegedly sent Daniel's brother into a state of panic, and he tried to defend himself with his helmet.

According to Daniel, his brother's self-defence eventually proved futile, as the customer apparently thrust the "entire knife" into his brother's body.

Despite the pain from the injury, Daniel's brother tried his best to "pin down the customer with his body" while allegedly "having the knife in his stomach for 45 minutes".

After a passer-by alerted the authorities, Daniel's brother was conveyed to the hospital and is now recovering, shared Daniel.

'Traumatising' ordeal

Other than physical injury, Daniel said his brother was "deeply traumatised" by the alleged assault.

According to him, his brother has been working as a delivery rider for around three years, and the job was his source of income.

As such, Daniel's brother was worried about making a living for the next few months as his injury made it impossible to make deliveries.

He also would not be able to ride his motorcycle, which he had been saving up for, shared Daniel.

Appealing for witnesses

Noting that police investigations are ongoing, Daniel said his family would like to appeal for witnesses and any video footage of the incident.

Besides helping his family to understand what transpired on Sunday, he also hoped to gather enough evidence to help his brother file for insurance claims.

Daniel shared that he would like to publicise his brother's encounter so that other delivery riders would not need to go through the same ordeal.

He added: "If customers would like to pay cash, they should be required to have the exact amount and not at the cost of an innocent bystander, who was just delivering food," said Daniel.

SCDF statement

In response to Mothership's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) confirmed they received a call for assistance regarding the incident at around 10:35pm on Dec. 22.

Besides Daniel's brother, SCDF conveyed another person to Changi General Hospital.

Mothership has reached out to the Singapore Police Force for comments.

Grab statement

A Grab spokesperson told Mothership that the company is aware of the incident and is "taking it very seriously".

"The safety of our community, including our delivery-partners, is our top priority," read the statement.

Grab does not "tolerate any form of violence", and such actions are "completely unacceptable" and "violate [its] code of conduct," said the spokesperson.

Following the incident, Grab has "banned the customer involved" from its platform and "reached out to the affected delivery-partner" to offer its support.

These include assistance with his personal accident insurance coverage claim, according to the spokesperson.

Top images via Daniel's Facebook