Grab driver suspended for 1 week after mocking passenger with crutches during ride to Woodlands hospital

A 17-year-old girl in Singapore booked a Grab ride to Woodlands Health on Sep. 17 at around 3:20pm.

She was on crutches and was waiting together with her domestic worker at their block shelter for the driver to arrive.

The ride began on a bad start as the driver ended up going to the side shelter.

The girl was unable to find the car on time and was slapped with a S$3 late fee.

The situation worsened during the ride itself.

She noticed that the driver was texting on his phone and realised he was talking about her.

Shocked and upset by his words, she decided to take pictures to show her older sister, who was waiting for her at Woodlands Health.

Distressing experience

The girl's mother, Neo, later posted about the encounter on Facebook Group Complaint Singapore.

Speaking to Mothership, Neo said the entire experience was "distressing and unacceptable".

She said that it was not just "poor service", but "dangerous behaviour" as he was texting while driving.

Neo also explained that they did not book GrabAssist as her daughter was not in a wheelchair and had someone waiting to assist her in boarding and exiting the car.

She reached out to Grab Support on Sep. 17 but only received a message from their Social Care team after she published her post online on Sep. 24.

Grab's statement

In response to media queries from Mothership, Grab said they sincerely apologised for the customer's unpleasant experience.

“We sincerely apologise for the unpleasant experience the customer had on the Grab ride. At Grab, we do not tolerate discriminatory behaviour or language on our platform whether from our driver-partners or passengers."

They have also suspended the driver for one week.

"In this case, we have spoken to the driver-partner and have reminded him of adhering to our Code of Conduct.  As this is his first incident with no prior record, he will be suspended for one week."

They also assured customers that this incident was not reflective of the vast majority of their driver-partners.

"We want to assure our customers that this case is not reflective of the vast majority of our driver-partners. We would also like to take this opportunity to remind both driver-partners and passengers to treat one another with respect at all times. Should they need help, they can always reach out to Grab for assistance."

Top photos from Complaint Singapore/Facebook